So it's been a while since I wrote about things that are actually happening in Nepal (/India)... we went on a trek and I lost my phone so I'm going to have to start writing more because I can't just get my parents to pass on the news!
The trek... we went to Langtang which is practically Tibet and it was beautiful! There was a lot of walking, and we were even more impressed with ourselves on the way back down when we realised how far we'd climbed! I went with Ellie and Becca didi (an Austrian girl who we've been living with and become really good friends with), but on the way we met 3 separate groups of people we knew from Kathmandu- what are the chances?! We also made a lot of friends on our way- although admittedly more with the porters and guides than the tourists- I think we have actually become nepali in our time here! It was crazy how thin the air got close to the top, just walking on the flat got us out of breath pretty quickly. I think our top altitude was about 4000m. Woop.
Now we're in India after a week of ridiculous strikes in Nepal- why would they do that on the week we have to travel all over the country?! On the day we returned from Syaphru Besi (where our trek began/ended) there was a strike on all local buses, which we were supposed to catch back to Kathmandu. Eventually we managed to persuade a bus to take a group of tourists for a higher price, and managed to borrow some money from a friendly fellow tourist because we'd had half our money stolen the day before :s)
That left us one day in Kathmandu before we had to leave. The day we didn't go anywhere, there were no strikes. The day we left, there were protests all over the city and we couldn't really leave our house until it was time to catch the bus in the afternoon. Generally, the strikes seem to run out of energy by the afternoon so it's okay. We drove all through the night, set back a little by traffic and an accident, but just as we were approaching the border we stopped again- more strikes!
This time we were told we couldn't move til tomorrow, which was serious because our visas ranout that day. Everyone was very concerned about us but pretty much said it was too dangerous and we had to wait (when Maoists strike they throw stones and fire at any moving vehicles- not fun). But eventually we got moving around 2 o clock (told you they run out of energy in the afternoon) and we made it across the border by 6, and to Darjeeling by 10:30, making it a 32-hour journey door to door. All that for a cup of Darjeeling tea!
So here we are in Darjeeling, supposed to be able to see Everest but it's so foggy I can only just see the end of the road, and freezing cold although apparently its warmer everywhere else in India. However, they do speak Nepali so we can communicate, and we're having Dal Bhat for tea tonight, so it's all good :)
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Final Report
This is the final report we wrote for SGCP- thought it might be an interesting summary
We have spent 3 months working with SGCP across 3 of the programs including SEP (Special Education Program), Home visit program and CP centre.
In SEP we have spent time observing the children in class and at mealtimes.
We have worked with Medha, the employed Speech therapist, with individual children. We have also created some resources together intended to be used for speech therapy in the future. We have given feeding training to the teachers and therapy staff. We asked them to give feedback of what they had learned and suggest some new feeding guidelines, but due to a number of factors this could not be completed. Unfortunately, our goals were not reached as we were unable to provide training to the helpers who play a key role at mealtimes.
We would like all helpers to receive the feeding training (ideally provided by Medha and Saruna), and for everyone who has received the training to feedback and create a new list of guidelines. We would also like the resources we have made to continue to be used regularly. In the short time we have been here we have noticed a lot of improvements amongst various children. This shows the importance of therapy so we’d like to encourage you to continue with your good work.
In the CP centre we have spent time observing individual sessions and have offered advice to the physiotherapists about how to maximize communication.
We would like therapists to continue to use this advice with future children that they treat.
On Home Visits we have provided speech therapy in combination with therapy provided by the home visitor, regarding both communication and feeding. We feel that home visits are essential as it teaches the parents how to manage the child’s condition in their own environment.
We would like the good work to continue.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. We have really enjoyed our time here and will be sorry to say goodbye.
We have spent 3 months working with SGCP across 3 of the programs including SEP (Special Education Program), Home visit program and CP centre.
In SEP we have spent time observing the children in class and at mealtimes.
We have worked with Medha, the employed Speech therapist, with individual children. We have also created some resources together intended to be used for speech therapy in the future. We have given feeding training to the teachers and therapy staff. We asked them to give feedback of what they had learned and suggest some new feeding guidelines, but due to a number of factors this could not be completed. Unfortunately, our goals were not reached as we were unable to provide training to the helpers who play a key role at mealtimes.
We would like all helpers to receive the feeding training (ideally provided by Medha and Saruna), and for everyone who has received the training to feedback and create a new list of guidelines. We would also like the resources we have made to continue to be used regularly. In the short time we have been here we have noticed a lot of improvements amongst various children. This shows the importance of therapy so we’d like to encourage you to continue with your good work.
In the CP centre we have spent time observing individual sessions and have offered advice to the physiotherapists about how to maximize communication.
We would like therapists to continue to use this advice with future children that they treat.
On Home Visits we have provided speech therapy in combination with therapy provided by the home visitor, regarding both communication and feeding. We feel that home visits are essential as it teaches the parents how to manage the child’s condition in their own environment.
We would like the good work to continue.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. We have really enjoyed our time here and will be sorry to say goodbye.
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