New Site—Nepal

When we scheduled our Spring 2009 field trip, we weren’t sure if we could actually treat in Bali—all depended on the paperwork going through. So we decided to tack on another destination: Nepal. Well, it’s sort of nearby, as continents go…

We were invited to go there by a patient of Frank’s who is from a small mountain village in Mustang. The plan is to divide up into two teams. One will work in the Kathmandu Valley area, where there is huge need and great poverty. Populations of Tibetan refugees, Hindu and Muslim Nepali are all here, with no regular healthcare. The second team will trek up into Mustang. There we will work out of small villages—treating both the residents of these villages as well as many others who will trek down from other, even more remote locations.

A very ambitious plan in just one week!

What Happened??

After our return to the US from Bali in January, our supporters in Sanur went to work to get our status up and going. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the Health Minister who was such an obstacle to us—threatening to send us to jail if we didn’t desist immediately—is out office! Now there is a new Health Minister, and word from Bali is that our paperwork has gone through and our Yayasan counterpart is officially approved to do aid work. Our mandate includes working with local Indonesian health care workers and acupuncturist to share information and skills—and hopefully, eventually, to have local practitioners carrying on the work that we are initiating.

On The Road Again

I’m up in the air, somewhere alongside of China, heading to Singapore on my way to Denpasar. GAHP is back on the road!