HearingNEPAL Program Inc has its first AGM

HNP’s first AGM was held on Sunday April 14th, with members in Cannonvale, Brisbane & Nepal attending via Skype.
Office Bearers were elected and are as follows:
President: Sue Tuck
Secretary: Lew Tuck
Treasurer: Bronte McNamara
Management Committee members: Deborah Setterlund, Tanya Whalley, Katie White, Debbie Leigh, Keshab Dangol, Sangye Tenzin, Manoj Gurung, John Formosa.
HNP Members can access the minutes, President’s report and Treasurer’s report by online (contact us to register for online access)

Planning for the coming year

Co-ordinating the various services now offered with the support of HearingNEPAL Program takes some organization. Below is a taste of Lew’s activities on a recent planning trip to Nepal. Read more….

Check out the coming year’s program
HearingNEPAL is planning to run ear camps in the following areas:

  • Ladakh North India  – July 7 – 13 2013
  • Chelsa / Thubten Choeling Nepal October 7th – 16th 2013
  • Suketar Nepal October 20th – 28th 2013
  • Palpa Boys Home Nepal January 4th & 5th 2014
  • Khachoe Gakyil Nunnery  Nepal January 14th -15th 2014 (to be confirmed)
  • Nubri District Nepal – two ear camps Sept / Oct 2014

Read More…

Introducing Friends of Hearing Nepal

Friends of Hearing Nepal has been set up to offer  compassionately-based, independent support, for disadvantaged persons who need a “lift up” to get them (or keep them) going on a sustainable path. These activities are funded independently and not part of the formal HearingNEPAL Program. These funds are not subject to application for tax concessions, but of course documented for transparency’s sake. They are not included in HearingNEPAL Program Inc. accounts.
Read the first Friends Newsletter…

Report on Meetings held in Nepal
Lew and Nepal Partner and Associates – March 2013

Chandra: Tawal representative
We will not be taking a camp to Tawal this year, as they have had 4 previous camps including the only village that the eye specialist has visited twice!

Visitors to PA NepalIndira: PA Nepal
Natalie, Colin and kids Freya and Callan from Oman offer their gifts to the children at PA Nepal. They are also great supporters of our  HearingNEPAL Program
Lew and Indira discussed the advent of a hearing camp in Palpa, January 2014

Joy FoundationJOY Foundation:
Meet with Pradip in general nature and with the monk who works with JOY and Ross from NAFA re the possibility of a hearing camp in his village near Darjeeling.

KOPAN:
Battery charger brought from Aus placed in Clinic HNP locker

Keshab: NAHOH re:-VOLUNTEER’s role in clinics
Keshab to find out from hospitals what is their policy, including baby and child testing departments.
Lew to discuss with Sanjeev (Shechen Clinic) their policy

Shechen Clinic
Meeting with Sanjeev (Clinic director) and Manoj:
Re: Volunteers:

  1. Volunteers can only “observe” under Nepal entry visa tourist restrictions, and Shechen Clinic can lose its licence to operate if caught with a volunteer “testing” a patient.
  2. There is some scope for volunteers in a training role, in a “conference” format.
  3. Shechen has stopped using volunteers as the government is now getting resources to monitor and prosecute
  4. Shechen Remote medical clinics
  5. Keshab goes with the doctors but works separately, as a trial of all in one team was too confusing for support staff and patients.

Staff training:

  1. Sanjeev, Manoj and Keshab are looking for a suitable person with CMA qualification with correct motivation, but perhaps not a priority in their exceptionally busy lives.
  2. Kenrab at Kopan is doing his CMA, and Sangye (Manager Kopan Clinic) says that he will be available for HearingNEPAL Programs up to average of two days a week. He will be completing CMA Training within a year, and then Keshab has arranged  for him to be trained at the Teaching Hospital with ENT’s to be an “Otological Assistant”
  3. Sarita, who is working at NAHOH with Keshab, making moulds , hearing screening etc, is training her brother to make moulds, such that in her  absence or in peak load  periods’ she has backup. He was initially less keen, but now Keshab is happy with the interest and effort levels.

Shechen Hospice:
shechen hospice patientLew was shown around the seven bed hospice. Patients included one young man who had worked in Korea with chemicals, and now has a lung “disease” such that he is in need of continuous oxygen. Four ladies were receiving palliative care for cancer  and a young lady that had been raped, and curled in her shame for so long that her legs need physio and her back and side is one massive bed sore.  The young lady, 23 yrs old, has been offered a social work career with Friends of HearingNEPAL, when she is discharged from the hospice, teddy and fresh fruit will help until then!. If you want to join in, contact us at info@himalayanhealthandhearing.org

the german visitorsMENTION THE GERMANS
Yes they are covered in red dye, it was Holi celebration!
A year or so ago, Markus and his wife sought someone in Nepal with hearing aid programming equipment, so they could ride their bikes from Germany, and fit hearing aids to kids in Nepal. HearingNEPAL Program had supplied all the equipment previously to Keshab at NAHOH, and so over they came. Markus also wanted to assist NAHOH and so Keshab suggested they sponsor the ear mould manufacture, as moulds were being made in Australia. This they did, with equipment and materials, so now NAHOH was self-sufficient in Nepal!
This year Markus was accompanied by Percy and Ralf, with Steffi and  Antje, who are hearing services providers and hearing aid acousticians in Germany, and joining the program here. We all met, and summarising our discussions:

  1. We agreed that Keshab and his organisation needed to be sustainable, all year round, so that he would be available when we came with our individual projects. It was noted that HearingNEPAL Program was paying wages, supplying testing and programming equipment, ear care drugs and transport, NAFA was paying the rent in a new place that was large enough to house the testing and mould making equipment. Markus has undertaken to pay monthly into a specific Superannuation account for Keshab. Thanks Markus.
  2. We discussed the need for a holistic service, as when we go to a new remote area, more than likely there has been no hearing service provision. To this end, we agreed on the advantage of supplying primary ear care, associated drugs, testing and aids for all ages. This meant that “Alternate listening devices were required for the oldies – and some teenagers who would not wear hearing aids for cultural reasons. We had a steady trickle of hearing aids donated, but are having to buy large numbers of ALDs. Percy offered to look into this aspect when he returns to Germany! Thanks Percy. And in another direction, Ralf and Steffi are working with the Chernobyl victims in Russia. So compassionate! Antje has offered her willingness to assist and lew will follow up and co-ordinate our efforts to maximise benefits to all we meet.
  3. BTE Hearing aid styles where the hook could be pulled or screwed off were the most practical, maintenance wise, as they could be cleaned with ”Spirit” and a puffer.
  4. Training: Keshab has been invited to Germany for extensive training in testing, evaluation, hearing aid selection, programming and fitting. His mould making skills will also be honed. It was recommended that the time to go was the rainy season, June through to end August.
  5. We also discussed the importance of primary ear care and education to all children, and raising funds for educational materials and drugs. We agreed on the value of prevention!
  6. “Deaf” school at Banepa. Markus commented that most of the children were hard of hearing, rather than “Deaf”. Hearing aids were an immense benefit. It was also generally felt that many of the children had been deposited there, as they were “too much trouble” in their homes, and disruptive and poor learners at school. This is surely a behavioural pattern that a child that could not easily communicate with his peers would exhibit. It was easily seen that the children were “better off” in a similarly abled group, where the hearing loss is corrected, and they feel more accepted.
  7. It is interesting to note that in Germany, the word for stupid is the same as deaf. Here, we may just think that, in Nepal that is what their belief is! So much for us to do!

Meeting at Kopan with Sangye and Tsundu to finalise this year’s program:

Ladakh, India July 7th to July 13th 2013
Keshab, Nawang Thinley, Sue and lew
Crew to fly in to Delhi, then fly to Leh for a 5 day ear camp.

Chelsa Monastery (Little Kopan) and then Thubten Choeling, Nepal  October 7th to October 16th 2013
Keshab, Sangye, Manoj (to arrange holidays and confirm) Lew and Tanya and monk/s to make total of 6 persons
(Tanya is HearingNEPAL Program Inc’s lawyer, and serves on our committee . Tanya represents the future of our program, so we are honoured that she should join us in Nepal.)

1.       Jeep  7th/8th October to Chelsa (or fly if runway sealing completed)
2.       Chelsa Monastery hearing camp 9th to 11nd (3 days)
3.       Walk to Thubten Choeling Monastery 12th October
4.       Hearing Camp 13th to 15th Oct (2-3 days)        Pablu stay overnight 15th
5.       Return Kopan 16th arrive 17th October  or fly back 16th October

Suketar, Nepal (Tsundu’s village)   October 20th  to 28th 2013
Sangye ??, Tsundu, monk/s, Keshab, lew  Total 5-6 persons
1.       Two day jeep travel, arrive PM 21th.
2.       Hearing camp 22th to 26th Oct (5 days)

Palpa, Kathmandu January 3rd to 5th, January 14th  to 15th 2014
lew, Sue, Katie, Keshab
(Katie is on our committee, and is the lady responsible for our web site and also brochures. Katie also raises a lot of money selling singing bowls etc. for our program. She is a very dear friend of Sue’s and mine, and we are honoured that she can come and see what Nepal is all about! Katie, like Sue has a background in Audiology, but now is a natural therapy healer and we are hoping she can meet our youg friend in the Shechen Hospice)

And in the future…..
2014
1.       Confirmed: Kopan’s Kunken’s village,  Manaslu lower and upper ear camp Sept/Oct 2014 dates to be advised
2.       Discussions to continue re East Tibet, Sikkim, Darjeeling, and of course following up genuine needs at places already visited.

President Sue’s Questions to the President of NAHOH, Macha Bhai
Q. I was wondering about the feasibility of perhaps sponsoring a hearing impaired person, perhaps a NAHOH member, to be trained in the making of ear moulds to free up Keshab for his important Primary Ear Care work.
Q. Are there very many members in NAHOH at present?
Answer: Thank you very much for the valuable ideas and suggestions. There are a 50+ members but most people are busy in their own works. The main issue is that these kind of work aren’t consistently available so it might be a bit difficult to find interested people and retain them. We’ll certainly think this through and let you know.
Regards,
Macha Bhai

Questions by our President Sue to Keshab, the answers via lew, after inquisition of Keshab
Q 1. What was the mode of operation of your camp with the Germans at Lumbini?
Answer. Primary ear care, testing and fitting hearing devices to all ages, as our camps do.
Drugs paid by NAHOH, from the sale of hearing aids in Kirtipur and at the camp. Many of these aids are supplied by the German sponsors.
Q2. Do you fit moulds or tubes with domes. How does this happen?
Answer. At the Banepa Deaf school, audiograms are taken and hearing aids are selected. Impressions are taken, and Keshab returns on his own to fit the aids with the moulds.
In the case of Lumbini, same procedure, except Keshab plans to ride his new bike to Lumbini in about 2-3 weeks. The bike was provided by Friends of HearingNEPAL Program, as his other bike would not pull the skin off a rice pudding. (Translation by lew)
Keshab note the value of the Dremel drill purchased with NAFA’s donation to HNP, was used to drill the tube canals in the moulds as the mould making drills supplied by the German sponsors has been returned to Germany for repairs.
Q3. How do you decide who gets a hearing aid, and how much they should pay, if anything?
Answer: If they are poor or from a remote area, then the aids are free. They will accept money for batteries.
If they are locals, then they will be asked to offer Rs3000 – Rs5000 (A$34 –A$55). If they come in a car, then from KTM valley, so they pay Rs10000. This raises funds for medicines and fuel.
Q.4 What devices are they offered ?
Answer: We show them and trial hearing aids, mini and maxi ALD’s. The old people choose. Payment as above. Usually, age 50 and above, hearing aids are not offered.
A teenager preferred a mini ald with ear buds, to two aids, as his friends would not see him as stupid, because he wore aids.
Q.5. How do you know who is using the aids, and do you see them again.
Answer. People only come back if a problem. Some to have their aids vacuum dried. Most people are from out of the valley, so do not come back. Their batteries are purchased via friends visiting. Most people get more batteries, indicating continued use.
Q6. How are second hand reconditioned aids and new aids distributed?
Answer: Second hand aids are used in remote camps, except Tawal, where new aids were sponsored. New aids are fitted in Shechen Clinic and NAHOH in Kirtipur.

Finish
lew