Hello,
my name is Heather Coleman and I have been volunteering with CDO Nepal for two
weeks now. I was able to go along with
some of the CDO staff to one of their safe motherhood workshops in a remote
village in the mountains a few days after I arrived in Nepal. I could not be of much help since I do not
speak Nepali besides the standard ‘Namaste’ and ‘Dhanyabad’, but I am thankful
that I was able to observe this event.
Over a hundred women came from places so far away that they had to trek
for up to 4 hours on treacherous mountain roads with their children on their
backs! The people are clearly so
grateful for the services that CDO extends to them, and they are obviously much
needed if these mothers are determined to travel so far just to attend. The CDO staff, as well as a few people from
the government who came along to observe, taught the women proper breast
feeding techniques, how to check themselves for cancer, how to avoid uterus prolapsed
(fistulas), the importance of receiving proper pre and post natal care, and
encouraged women to go to hospitals or local village health posts to deliver
their children safely by handing out ‘packets of love’ which include clothing
for the mother and child as well as a blanket.
Much of CDO’s time spent teaching the women is
actually designated to encouraging the women to unlearn certain superstitious
beliefs without coming across as being disrespectful; many women believe that
if you drink alcohol while you are breastfeeding the baby will sleep longer
thus allowing the women to spend more time working in the fields. Another long held traditional belief is that
if you cross a stream while pregnant a demon will attack the child which caused
many women to avoid traveling to the hospitals or local health posts. It is relatively easy to provide medical
check-ups and nutritional supplements, but the real challenge arises when you
have to make slight adjustments to ancient aspects of peoples’ culture. CDO has been able to make such significant
strides in this due to the trust that they established within the communities
they work with. Since the implementation
of the safe motherhood programs in the remote villages, there has been an
increase of 31.92% in women seeking care from local hospitals and health posts
versus relying on traditional healing methods.
This is amazing since the program has only been in place for one year. This tremendous achievement did not go
unnoticed; in recognition of their efforts, they received the Award Certificate
for Excellent Service by the District Public Health Office, the local health
posts, and the central government of Nepal.
CDO is definitely making waves.
I
was also allowed to tag along to one of their health education and check-up
sessions held in a local carpet factory.
Upon entering the factory my heart dropped seeing the conditions these
people work under; there was a noticeable haze in the air from all of the
fabric and dust particles floating around, rats scurried along the walls,
people smoked indoors, the lights were strung up with threads, and spiders monopolized
any space above 6’. There were numerous
stains from fires climbing the walls which is not surprising due to the
cigarettes and faulty wiring when the floor is littered with fabric scraps and
dust. There were two little girls
climbing around the factory - daughters of the workers and did their homework
amidst the filth. The smaller of the two
began to cough at one point, and if my eyes were closed I would have thought
that such a hoarse noise could only have been produced by a 50 year old
smoker. CDO teaches the workers how to
properly care for themselves and dispenses medicine as needed. It is clear that these communities need CDO’s
assistance as well as workplace reforms.
