Walking the Indigenous Peoples Trail for a cause
By David Null
For members of the Karma Thalo Foundation, the rewards of launching a medical mission are many. Obvious is the reward of helping to improve the health and lives of others. Less obvious is the opportunity to connect with those living in remote villages, experiencing life as they live it day to day, and the opportunity to trek along the breathtaking scenery of the less traveled Indigenous Peoples Trail.
The United States non-profit, Karma Thalo Foundation (KTF USA) partners with its Nepali counterpart (KTF Nepal) to bring medical, dental, vision care and health education to people living along the recently inaugurated Indigenous Peoples Trail.
KTF volunteers cover all their own expenses; all funds raised directly serve the people attending the free medical camps. Under the guidance of Karma Lama, president and founder of KTF Nepal, the Indigenous Peoples Trail was chosen as the site of our clinics because of its remoteness and thus greater need for services. Karma works tirelessly throughout the year preparing for our annual October/November medical camps: ensuring support from the elders in both Lisankhu and Doramba where the clinics will take place; purchasing medicines and supplies; arranging all our trekking needs to and from the villages — lodging, food, Sherpas, translators. Without his work and the generous support of the local villagers, we could not succeed.
After months of physical training and hours of cramped air travel, our volunteers arrive in Kathmandu. This year our 20 medical and nonmedical support teams are truly international, not only from the United States but also Canada, New Zealand, Fiji and the Netherlands. After two days of rest and orientation in Kathmandu, we are geared to begin our 10 days of trekking and 4 days of medical camps. Contracting a second year with Encounter Karma Treks as our trekking company, we head to our first stop, Lisankhu, site of our first medical camp. We arrive after 6 hours by bus, crowded with our medical supplies, food for 10 days, and guides, Sherpas, cooks and porters. We are welcomed by a local health, women’s and education committees and village elders, complete with marigold leis and a band of native instruments. Some of our volunteers are so touched they shed tears. We are ushered to the school where the clinic will be held and then set up our various “offices,” registration and triage desks. We meet our interpreters and local volunteers. Now we will be able to begin seeing patients at 8:00 the next morning. From there we head to one of the local farmhouses where we will be treated as honored guests for the next three nights.
When we arrive the next morning at the school, patients from both Lisankhu and surrounding Tamang villages are already waiting, in some cases having walked 8 hours and spent the night camping outside the school gates. Thanks to Karma’s preparation and the cooperation and support of the village elders, the crowd of hundreds remains well-organized and we are able to focus on delivering medical care.
Combined, our doctors, dentists and vision screeners treated over 1600 patients in 4 days of clinics (2 days in Lisankhu and 2 days in Doramba). According to Dr. Donna Thackrey, “The most common things are joint and muscle complaints. Almost everyone has these complaints and headaches. Ears, nose, and breathing problems caused by indoor smoke exposure are common issues. Many people have lost their hearing from this. Asthma is common. Chronic infections of sinuses. Skin problems from the environment are frequent.” This year, our 3 dentists were able to do restorative work as they have added portable units and generators. Always busy and popular, were our two volunteers providing screening for reading glasses and distributing sunglasses.
One 7 year old girl came to our clinic with her left fingers, wrist and elbow in a permanent flexed position and unusable as a result of a fall from a tree. Her muscles were atrophied due to the lack of use. Our chiropractor was able to treat her four times in two days. After these four visits she was able to extend her forearm at the elbow. He told her that she needed to start using her left arm and taught her stretches to increase her range of motion that will ultimately lead to normal use. It is the hope of Karma Thalo Foundation that through our medical treks, more children such as this little girl will get health care.
After two days of seeing over 800 patients in Lisankhu, we begin our 4 day trek to Doramba. The descents and ascents are steep and challenging and we are thankful both for hours spent in training and the careful watch of our Sherpas, Jivan and Sanu.
Vastly different from the much-traveled Annapurna trek, the indigenous Peoples Trail winds through terraced mountainsides of millet, rice and golden mustard flowers. Stone houses with drying ears of corn decorating their eaves populate the villages. Women pass us carrying baskets of harvest cuttings and herding goats and water buffalo. Oddly, we meet no other trekkers. Officially designated by the government only two years ago, the Indigenous Peoples Trail offers little in the way of lodging so in some villages our porters pitch tents. Meals, as prepared by Encounter Karma’s chef Meg, were delicious and varied. One of the highlights of trekking the Indigenous Peoples Trail is the climb to the top of Sailung. One can easily imagine 100 lamas sitting on the knolls meditating–truly a spiritual experience. Just below, is Khola Kharka which offers a newly built lodge and location for a bonfire party.
Once reaching Doramba, we prepare for the final two days of medical camp. As in Lisankhu, we are able to see over 800 patients, again with amazing support from local villagers. From there, we trek through Galpa Bazaar down to Lubughat, where our last challenge is to wade waist-deep across the tributary of the Sunkoshi River. Thanks to Karma Lama, Encounter Karma Treks and the support and love from the people of Lisankhu and Doramba, Karma Thalo Foundation has had another successful medical trek. After two days rest and a farewell dinner and celebration at Rum Doodle, we fly back to our various homes across the world, already planning for and looking toward next year’s medical camps.
