Volunteering

You can support Necha Community Hospital by volunteering, either at the hospital in Necha or at the AHF office. Are you interested in our volunteer program? Then do not hesitate to contact us for further information!

Read about the experiences of our first volunteer, nurse Anne Taylor from New Zealand. She spent a month in Necha observing the workings of the hospital and assisting with staff education.

A Beautiful Place to Volunteer

"What does volunteering at Necha Community Hospital mean? It means being welcomed with open arms into a community very grateful for its new hospital. It means staying with local people in their farmhouses, learning to live as the villagers do and discovering the uniqe warmth and kindness of the Nepali people.

Before I went to Necha, all my nursing experience had been in modern hospitals in developed countries and I wondered how well I would adapt to the very different conditions in rural Nepal. But I needn't have worried. Necha is fortunate to have a very dedicated staff led by Dr Robin, who has the difficult task of diagnosing medical conditions without a laboratory or an x-ray machine. The Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and Medical Assistants were cheerful, enthusiastic and provided good nursing care despite having limited equipment. While I was there I was able to help them use the hospital's equipment and to teach good hygiene practices, effective wound care, and to offer help in the emergency room.

There were difficulties of course.

It is difficult to help a distressed patient to breathe when the oxygen concentrator can only provide a weak flow because of a poor power supply. Likewise, how do you clean a wound properly without hot water? Or remove sutures without proper lighting. Training the staff in small cramped rooms was also challenging while tracking consignments of medicines ordered from Kathmandu was frustrating.

Despite these difficulties, my time in Necha was very rewarding. The beaming smiles of gratitutde on the faces of the people we helped were humbling and I am looking forward to returning soon!"

(AHF Newsletter May 2011)