In January 2011, Dr Kate Yarrow, Founder and Chairman of Trustees for Doctors for Nepal (DFN) will be setting off for a month-long trip to Kalikot, Nepal after a brief stint in Kathmandu. She will be accompanied by 5 other intrepid travellers, Anne & Chris Yarrow (her parents), Maia (her cousin), Christine (DFN's intern) and Becky (a midwife from St Mary's).
The aim of this trip is to establish a DFN scholarship with the newly founded Patan Academy of Health Sciences. This new medical college in Kathmandu has the specific aim of training doctors for rural areas of Nepal, objectives which chime exactly with those of DFN.Furthermore, following our desire to extend our activities, we are hoping to set up clinical services, such as a DFN family planning programme to support local initiatives already in place and further help our sponsored students in their medical practice. In light of this, the second part of the trip will comprise a trek through the snow covered mountains to carry out a health needs assessment in the Kalikot region, the far wild wild West of Nepal.
Through this blog, we will be mapping our team's progress both leading up to and during the trip itself. Prior to departure, we will be posting brief updates on the meetings preparation with the Nepalese Department of Health and the Patan Academy in Kathmandu, mapping our route, as well as checking up on our team's fundraising efforts and physical preparation.
Once we are out there, this blog will also enable us to relay back from Nepal (notwithstanding the slight delay, due to low WIFI availability up snowy Nepalese mountains).
Let the adventure begin!
