NC

Upaya Nomads Clinic, 2017

Dolpo, Nepal

Upaya Zen Center’s Nepal Nomads Clinic, Dolpo, 2017"Altruism at its best is a radical expression of connection,

concern, inclusivity, and a sense of responsibility regarding the well-being of others. It is about consciously not robbing others of their autonomy by “helping” or “ fixing” them. It is about

the realization that our own survival is not separate from the survival of others."

Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and the poorest in Asia after Afghanistan. Twenty five percent of the population live below the poverty line, and the average annual income is below $700 USD.

In September, 2017, as has been the case for over 37 years, Upaya organized a team of clinicians and others to serve in the poorest and most rural areas in the Himalayas. Our work has concentrated on Western Nepal, the most impoverished area of this country.

-Joan Halifax

For the past several years, we have served in Dolpo, Nepal, with the support of Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche. Dolpo has a fifty percent infant mortality rate and twenty five percent maternal mortality rate.

Village health clinics are rarely utilized, and health care workers are few in this region. Dolpo’s remoteness, material poverty, and lack of medical care has made it an important area in which to bring Upaya’s Nomads Clinic (NC).

“Having supported the

Nomads Clinic for over

thirty years, it has been

a truly joyful and

inspiring, albeit tough,

journey. In essence, we

are a team of committed

clinical and lay volun-teers of all ages, who go

into the most remote

regions of the Himalayas

and Tibetan Plateau to

provide medical and

humanitarian aid.

We train local healthcare

providers and meet the

healthcare needs of those

who live in these isolated

mountain communities.

We also provide training

to local peoples responsible

for assisting with health

care in remote villages,

and we collaborate with

traditional Tibetan and

Nepali medical practi-tioners. This past year's

Nomads Clinic was

assisted by a remarkable

group of young people.

They brought energy,

dedication, and a special

feeling to this marvelous

endeavor.”

- Roshi Joan Halifax

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• Deliver direct medical care to peoples (particularly women and children)in remote, high altitude, rural areas of the Himalayas

• Train and mentor Nepali clinicians and health care workers who serve inthe Himalaya region

• Distribute solar lights (Little Suns), toothbrushes, eye and sun glasses,and other health necessities

• Distribute feminine hygiene products and educate rural girls and womenon self-care

• Provide ongoing support for the education of Nepali health care workerswho join our medical team, a network of young Nepali clinicians fromSolu Khumbu (Everest region), Mustang, Gorkha, Humla, and Dolpo

• Transform the experience of Western clinicians

Upaya's Nomads Clinic's objectives are to:

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have been we doctors and helpers that

The Nomads Clinic in Dolpo this year included sixteen Western clinicians and twelve Western support team members, partnering with thirteen Nepali clinicians and health workers, plus a large Nepali support team. In all, over 100 Nepalis and Westerners served for four weeks in Dolpo. They walked over 173 miles across terrain ranging from 6,600' to 17,400', and saw over 1200 patients in four large clinics, and numerous smaller clinics along the way.

During the clinics the project offered Western medicine and treatment, Tibetan diagnosis and medicine, acupuncture, physical therapy, stretching (yoga), dental care, and feminine hygiene clinics, as well as birth control and pregnancy counseling. They did extensive wound care; took care of people suffering from joint pain, gastritis, kidney problems, and respiratory issues. The team members dewormed children who had received no treatment, and took care of many pregnant mothers, who had no access to medical care.

Because of the high prevalence of gastritis, the team brought H. Pylori test kits donated by Quidel Corporation and tested hundreds of symptomatic people of which many were positive.

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have been we doctors and helpers that

The NC Team also distributed Little Sun solar lights to over one thousand households in Dolpo, where they are invaluable in communities suffering from indoor pollution from yak dung fires, which cause pulmonary and eye disease.

“Light is for everyone – it determines what we do and how we do it. This is why we have de-veloped the solar-powered lamp Little Sun. One part of the artwork is the lamp and the acti-vities it enables. The other is the successful distribution of Little Sun in off-grid communities, its journey from product-ion to usage.”

Olafur Eliasson, Founder of Little Sun

The team also distributed 1000 toothbrushes, and offered dental clinics in every village served. They did vision testing and gave out 600 reading glasses for vision acuity improvement, as well as 600 sunglasses to help prevent eye damage from the sun. Finally, the NC team distributed high quality children's clothing and other donated materials , including hundreds of reusable feminine hygiene products (see photo below).

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Upaya Zen Center and Roshi Joan are profoundly grateful for your support of Upaya’s Nomads Clinic. Your generosity, and the

dedication of Western and Nepali clinicians and health care providers and support team members are the heart of this work.

Please give here: www.upaya.org/giving/nepal-nomads-clinic

For more information about the Nomads Clinic please see: www.upaya.org/social-action/nomads-clinic

We look forward to partnering with you in the future.

Great gratitude to Drs. Charles McDonald and Wendy Lau, who helped coordinate the clinics, Dolpo Tulku Trust, Dhulikhel

Hospital, Olafur Eliasson, Little Suns, Rebecca Solnit, and many kind and generous donors, plus our Nepali team:

Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche, Prem Dorchi Lama, Tenzin Norbu Lama, Dr. Sonam. Tsering Wangmo, Pema Gyalpo, Dr. Phurbu, Pasang

Lhamu Sherpa Akita, Tora Akita, Amchi Lhundrup, and Nomads Clinic’s compassionate Western team!

Gratitude for photos by Dan Lin. Graphic Design by Sunny Shender