VIN welcomes all interested medical students, individuals, professionals, organizations, associations and other groups to join our health program.
I spent a week working with VIN in their Community Health/Medical Care program. I received basic orientation to Nepali culture and language prior to being placed within my host family in the village of Jitpur. They were very hospitable and endearing. I was allowed the opportunity to experience authentic Nepalese life and culture, and regarded as family. There was an intense admiration and appreciation for the Nepalese people almost instantaneously, for their resourcefulness, simplicity, and good-natured dispositions. I worked in the community health post, which involved assisting patients with symptom management, and offering health promotion and illness prevention strategies. I also had several occasions to go remote areas and model tooth brushing for particularly vulnerable individuals and children. Overall, my experience was insightful and empowering. I learned so much. I extend my deepest gratitude to VIN for their continued support throughout my time in Nepal, specifically Bhupi, Kabita, Sam and Nishan. - Shelley Pikes, Canada
Community Health Program Goal
To sustainably and significantly improve the basic health conditions for the Jitpur community by improving: access to health services; hygiene facilities;awareness of health & hygiene issues
VIN is dedicated to achieve for Jitpur Phedi Community by 2012
Improved Health Services: promote healthpost facilities to community people for proper treatment by professional medical team - encourage community people to use the medical clinic by awareness raising programs and avail sufficient basic medicaments for free.
Hygiene Facilities: All families will have access to toliet (VIN should help construct over 600 toilets); and all the families will have proper waste management system.
Health and hygiene awareness: The families will be trained for basic health and hygeine to mentain clean and healthy environment; women health issues and other common health issues like STDs
To achieve the above goals, VIN has also been mobilizing local and international volunteers with health backgrounds in the rural communities where people do not have access to any health facilities, as the government is not able to provide adequate health services in the rural communities. Further, rural Nepali people are often unwilling to go to the hospital and other contemporary health services because of orthodox and superstitious thinking and other cultural influences.
Some Nepali people may visit a dhami / Jhakri (witch doctor) when they are suffering from a disease, so most of them sometimes die without getting the benefit of modern medication. VIN is playing an active role in linking those rural people around the world and within the country who are really eager to serve the many needy people in Nepal's rural areas.
VIN Runs Community Health Program in three Ways:
Health Institutions: Volunteers will be assigned to health posts, hospitals, and other health institutions, either being run by the government or a local community, in both rural and urban settings. Volunteers will work with health assistants, doctors, nurses and local volunteers. They will work daily, 3 to 5 hours, for 5 to 6 days a week. VIN's first priority is always its own main working community Jitpur Phedi, where volunteers can get involved in our integrated community development approach.
Health Camps : Medical Volunteers will be mobilized to work in health camps for a prearranged schedule: 1 day to a week. Volunteers will work with their Nepali counterparts, who assist both Nepali and foreign volunteers. Volunteers' responsibilities are to distribute medicine and consult with citizens about health care, by this means raising the awareness of healt, sanitation and environment in the community.
Awareness Raising Programs: Many Nepali people are unaware of health and hygeine and environmental issues. We therefore mobilize local and international medical volunteers mainly to work with the youth clubs, women's groups, children's clubs, women microcredit cooperatives, and other local organizations to teach them about proper health and sanitation habits. VIN aims to prepare local health advocates by training the local groups of women, youth, teachers and children.
In addition, volunteers will provide First-Aid information to the local people in rural villages, thereby providing them with a practical and sustainable health and sanitation skills. At the mean time, volunteers will give health education classes to children clubs inin public schools. Clubs community groups pass this information to other Clubs, groups and communities at large. We prefer medical students or doctors, nurses for this program; however, we do accept other volunteers who have some experience in the area.
