Southwell Doctor delivers help to Nepal

Dr Amit Bajracharya, GP at Southwell Medical Centre recently flew to Nepal to help provide medical help in his home country, following a massive earthquake on 25th April.

Southwell Medical Centre and neighbouring practices and chemists had donated a significant amount of medical relief for Dr Bajracharya to take with him.

On arrival in Nepal, Amit worked with a team of 10 people, he said: “We quickly realised that the relief works were very patchy and disorganised. We had visited remote outlying villages of Kathmandu every day and taken with us medical supplies, food, water and tents. We had targeted villages where aid hadn’t reached. We were surprised that we were the first help people had seen in one village just outside the capital on day 9 following the earthquake. Almost all of the houses were destroyed there with no casualties.”

Amit set up a mobile clinic and saw around 200 patients. As they were out in the remote community these were the ones who had neglected their health for obvious reasons and not gone to the hospital.

Dr Bajracharya continues: “The community spirit I saw was phenomenal. People would announce to meet at the certain time on facebook and hundreds would turn up to clear the rubble and dirt with their bare hands.”

Having return safely, Dr Bajracharya is now planning a second phase of help. With a team of around 20 friends and volunteers in Nepal they recognise the next challenge for the people will be proper shelter. “Monsoon season in approaching. People do not have have roof over their head,” said Amit. “We worked on a proposal to built Temporary Metal Shelters. Riverside Church in Southwell offered to help and has managed to collect a staggering sum of £15,360. This has become a major boost to our project. Each of these metal shelters costs £110 pounds. There is no labour cost as it is made by our team.”

Dr Bajracharya’s team now plan to make around 200 TMS shelters in coming weeks and are teaching the locals to build them and giving them supplies before moving on to next village.

Amit said: “We are ever so grateful to each and everyone who donated to this good cause. Patients have donated from their heart and I am overwhelmed and humbled by the support we have received. Staff at the surgery have also done a cake sale which raised furhter funds.”

Donations can still be made via a box at the Medical Centre. If further funds are raised the team hopes to expand their help to more villages.