EHN Nepal is a small joint Nepali/UK NGO focused on health care and education.
We have been operating in Nepal for over 5 years now and work with two major Government hospitals as well as several village communities in Nepal.
Through out the year we are able to place medical elective students in either a General or Paediatric hospital while also being able to offer places on one of the free rural health camps we run at specific times of the year.
On the medical camps we offer a free health check and doctor consultation as well as providing a free pharmacy. Volunteer on these projects are expected to be available for the fixed dates and able to work alongside the Nepali medical and volunteer team to provide the free service.
EHN also works with three Government schools in rural locations where we can place teaching volunteers to support local teachers in providing lessons to children aged between 5 and 16 years of age.
A brief insight into EHN:
EHN or Education and Health Nepal to give us our full name was set up by two Englishmen who are married to Nepali woman and who have spent over 15 years combined in Nepal. Wayne is now based in London and runs EHN UK while Phil is based in Kathmandu and takes care of EHN Nepal.
The UK handles most of the finance and website aspects of the NGO while Nepal operates the setting up and logistics of the projects, volunteers and medical elective students.
The way we work is simple. We take a fee that is split between us, the project and your host which in most cases is a home stay with a local family.
We like to use homestays as we feel this is the best possible way for visitors to get to know the amazing people of Nepal and their rich traditions and culture.
With the hospital elective is a simple split of $200 per person per month to the Hospital. Then another $200 to $250 to the home stay family for food and lodgings and another $20 is used to cover your transport to and from the project location. The rest is kept by EHN to run the NGO and help fund the free medical camps.
With the medical camps we again pay the home stay families but then we pay for the free medicines, equipment and supplies which are provided to the patients. We also cover all the costs or travel, food and accommodation for the Nepali medical staff and volunteers along with some local advertising.
Nepal :
As you may know Nepal has the world tallest mountain in Mt Everest but what you may not know is its real name is Sagarmatha which is the name the Buddhists have called it for centuries. Another aspect of Nepal that many are unaware of is its vastly diverse people who between them speak 96 different languages while living from 150m above sea level right up to just over 4000m giving Nepal a very uniquely diverse topography.
In the south we have wild Elephants, Tigers and Crocodiles in a predominantly subtropical grasslands, woodland and farmland irrigated by three major rivers that flow from the Himalayas. This area is quit flat in comparison to the rest of the country and river ride wide and slow.
As you move to the foothills the range of altitude varies greatly from a few hundred meters up to 2500m plus. He you find the lush green terraced rice paddy fields punctuated with stone or terracotta colour clay homes where almost every one out side the cities is a subsistence farmer. The foothiils are also home to Kathmandu and Pokhara the two largest urban areas in central Nepal and of course the countries capitol KTM. These cities differ massively as KTM was built over 100s of years by two different ruling families, the Mala and then the Shah's. Both put their own influence into the buildings, temples and traditions and both are still very much alive to this day which will be only to happy to show you in a city tour when you arrive.
I think that should be enough to give you a brief idea of what EHN does and what Nepal is like but please feel free to contact with any specific questions you may have ?
To end:
EHN focuses on Health care and Education for simple reasons.
1: The more knowledge people have the better places they are to help themselves and improve their quality of life.
2: In order to be able to use what you learn and pass it on you need to be healthy and good health equals a better life.
I know this may sound simplistic to many but we feel that so many NGO focus on new smart inventions or ideologies that have been developed in a western country that they miss the basics..
No matter what you do or what you build it will always be stronger and last longer if built on solid foundations...
Namaskar to one and all ..
