Electives and Short Term Projects
As we said in Issue 4 of Dòchas, it has been a real joy over the last few years to see the number of young people from Scotland choosing to go overseas with TLM to experience leprosy care as well as life in the developing world as part of their studies. Here 5 of them share just a little of what it was like and whether they would encourage others who get the opportunity to do the same.
More information about arranging your own elective or short term project overseas is available.
Your Guides
Donna Kelly, who is studying Medicine, visited Anandaban Hospital in Nepal
Nicole Buckingham, who is studying Occupational Therapy, visited Purulia Hospital in NE India
James Hardie, who was studying Psychology, visited Karigiri Hospital in SE India
Hannah Crosthwaite, who is studying Medicine, visited Naini Hosptal in N India
Emma Cottman, who is studying Nursing, visited Anandaban Hospital in Nepal
Emma Cottman
(We apologise to Emma for spelling her name wrongly in December's Dòchas)
So, why Nepal? I lost count the number of people who asked me that when I told them what I would be doing after my third year as a student nurse. My answer was pretty simple why not? Admittedly I had very little knowledge of the country or its people; my image of Nepal was constructed from pictures of Mount Everest coupled with a few scenes from Indiana Jones movies. Well, I was definitely wrong.
But, back to the beginning. One rainy September lunchtime at our Edinburgh based university, my classmates and I are told that we are expected to complete a two week placement during our summer break and given a list of places we should avoid. So, with my head reeling from all the possibilities, I turn to leave and I overhear my friend Alex talking about her family in Nepal. From that point on it was set, Alex and I would raise the money and spend the best part of a month 5,000 miles from home.
Of course, before we even left, we had to deal with a great deal of ignorance regarding Nepal and the disease, Leprosy. One person I spoke to asked me if Nepal was the capital of India and another laughed in disbelief when I told him we working with leprosy patients. ‘There’s still leprosy in the world? I thought we got rid of that in medieval times?!’ The other misconception was that we would come home with leprosy and it took a great deal of patient explaining that leprosy is not a communicable disease. It was difficult to predict the attitude towards Leprosy in Nepal when my own kinsmen were ignorant. How could the people of a poor ‘third world’ country have an accepting attitude towards this illness when the opinions of the so-called ‘first world’ were so full of revulsion? My cynicism was soon to be challenged.
But first we had to get there. The trip never seemed imminent until all of a sudden, its June 22nd, we’re all packed, we’ve been jabbed with what seems like a thousand vaccinations and I’m bidding a slightly tearful farewell to my friends. I’ve had three phone calls from family members reminding me to be safe, spend my money wisely and not lose my ticket home! It still feels a bit surreal even as we’re boarding the first of three flights. Thirty hours later and we’re staring down at the Himalayas, Kathmandu our destination.
Instantly we fall in love with Nepal, with its green hills, curious people and generally relaxed attitude to most things in life. Within the first hour we’d shed all our preconceptions and had adopted a generally open-minded view on our trip. Surely we were smack bang in the middle of one of the wonders of the world?
Our first week in Nepal was admittedly taken as a holiday however we did get to see first hand how the Nepali people live and the differences between city and rural living. During our visit to the Chitwan National Park we are privileged enough to be given a guided tour of a Tharu village. The Tharu people are an example of traditional Nepali life; they have remained true to their origins and still speak their own dialect. We were somewhat of a novelty in the village and were soon to learn that we were somewhat of a novelty in the country, we had never regarded ourselves as a racial minority until we got to Nepal, I learned a great deal about myself from this experience, most especially my personal identity and independence.
When we finally arrived at Anandaban Hospital we felt as though we had been away from home for years! Within the first half an hour we had been introduced to Tulsi, our cook and housekeeper at the guest house, most of the nursing staff and most of the doctors and we were accompanying Dr Tim, the hospital superintendent, on the ward round. Talk about thrown in at the deep end! During the next four weeks we would learn our way around the hospital and come to realise how much we appreciated our few phrases in Nepali! All the staff at Anandaban spoke English thankfully and the patients were very tolerant of our inability to communicate very well.
Both Alex and I cried as we left the hospital to catch our flights home. The staff at the hospital had become our family and as much as we couldn’t wait to see everyone back in the U.K., it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye to the people who had taken us in and treated us with respect and love. We both heartily agreed that we would be returning to the hospital the first opportunity that we got. For anyone considering taking some time in a Leprosy Mission Hospital in the world, I would say don’t hesitate. We are given one chance at life and you need to grasp every opportunity with both hands. The chance to work with leprosy patients in an incredible one; you will never meet people that are so thankful and respectful towards you and the immense feeling that you gain from the experience will get you through anything that life may throw at you. You will go out with one conception about life and yourself and you will come back with a totally new outlook on life. You will appreciate things more and be thankful for all the beautiful things in the world. One smile from any person you meet during you time with TLM will stay with you and the family that you gain whilst on your trip will be your family forever. Don’t hesitate, this was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life- it will be for you too!
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