We have been in Nepal since mid-May to meet with Dr. Rai, the Nepal Director of the Corrective Surgery Program, and to lead a fund-raising yoga tour in some of the most spectacular and historic sites in Nepal. We visited Dr. Rai at the recently opened surgery ward in the Plastic Surgery and Burn Center in Kirtipur, near Kathmandu, now open for patient care under CMAF's Corrective Surgery Program. Though the building itself is unfinished, it is wonderful to have the surgery ward open and functioning. It is clean and bright, with improved standards of care and universal precautions in place.
CMAF is pleased to have helped in the business planning and development of the Dietary Department in the new Plastic Surgery and Burn Center in Kirtipur. The Center opened a 20-bed surgery ward and an Operating Suite in April 2013 as scheduled. CMAF provided training for kitchen staff and donated kitchen utensils to help launch a public cafeteria as a social enterprise at the new Center, which will provide fresh-cooked food for staff, patients, visitors, and families. All proceeds from the cafeteria operation will be used for corrective surgeries and follow-up care for burn patients. We will continue to raise funds for the new Center, as it will facilitate corrective surgeries and burn treatments (including corrective surgeries for burn injuries), and training of medical staff who can work at the Center as well as outreach clinics in rural areas.
The new surgery ward was used recently in collaboration with volunteer doctors from Operation Smile to provide 65 children with cleft lip and/or palate surgeries - all in just 10 days! At this time some of the children sponsored by CMAF are being treated in the new Center and in the near future all Plastic Surgery patients will be cared for at the new Center.
Among the children operated on in the new ward was Sumata, an 8-year-old Nepali girl from Kathmandu. Sumata had three conjoined fingers in one hand, and was very ashamed of her disfigurement. After her corrective surgery, which successfully separated the three fingers, she is very happy because she will now have a normal-looking hand with all fingers working. With some hand therapy and exercise it will be possible for her to pick up and hold a pen without difficulty. She is no longer a deformed child suffering from stigma and shame. She can attend school without embarrassment and play with her friends. Her chance of finding a suitable husband has greatly increased and her future looks brighter. It is still hard to believe that this relatively simple surgery can make such a huge difference in a little girl's life.
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When I was in Nepal visiting wiith Dr. Shankar Rai recently, it broke my heart to see a five-year-old girl come in to his clinic, suffering from the physical pain and emotional trauma of a burn injury to her hand. I learned that unfortunately, burn injuries are all too common for chiildren in Nepal, especially in the rural areas. Families still use open fire pits and sometimes have kerosene used and stored near highly flammable materials. A burn injury not treated properly can become a painful disfigurement. As the damaged skin heals, it can result in what is called a burn contracture, a severe tightening of the skin that often does not respond to physical therapy alone. As we reach out to help children with congenital defects, we have realized we can also help children with disfiguring burn injuries. Dr. Rai is a reknowned surgeon with the specialized skills and experience needed to take on these complex, delicate surgeries. And we have the capacity, with the help of our donors, to transform the lives of these children.
We’ve come a long way.
Nine years ago, Children’s Medical Aid Foundation (CMAF) was founded with the purpose of freeing Nepalese children born with disfigurement and deformities from prejudice and ridicule. CMAF raises funds in the U.S. to support Dr. Shankar Rai’s Corrective Surgery Program based out of Kathmandu Model Hospital, enabling the Program to provide free surgical correction for at least 100 children every year. Without the surgery and follow-up support, these children would not have the opportunity to live up to their potential and would most likely go through life unfulfilled and impoverished due to social prejudices and ostracism.
This past year (2012), CMAF helped sponsor 130 surgeries. Since our founding, we have changed the lives of 930 children, and expect to pass a key accomplishment milestone of more than 1,000 children in 2013. We have achieved this as an all-volunteer organization, raising funds through individual donations, events, and coordinating in-kind services and donations in the U.S. and Nepal. Being part of Global Giving has been one of the best things we have done for our organization, as it increases awareness about the need in Nepal, and brings new friends and supporters into our circle of aid.
Where are we going?
In addition to treating children with congenital defects, Dr. Rai has been increasingly treating children with disfigured hands and limbs due to burn contractures. He is working to develop a new Burn Center in Kirtipur (outside of Kathmandu), which is scheduled to open this spring. The new Burn Center will focus on educating medical personnel to improve the availability and quality of burn treatment, including burn contractures. Additional trained medical personnel will be able to provide outreach to the rural areas of Nepal where the need is greatest. Going forward, CMAF will continue to raise funds for the Corrective Surgery Program, which will now include surgeries and follow-up care for burn victims, as well as children born with congenital defects.
Sanjeeb Shrestha, a citizen of Nepal and member of the CMAF Advisory Board, is assisting with the design and equipping of a public Cafeteria at the new Burn Center that will provide fresh-cooked food for staff, patients, visitors, and families. The Cafeteria will be operated as a social enterprise, hiring local cooks and using locally produced food. As a nonprofit, the Cafeteria service will be handled primarily by volunteers. All proceeds will be used for corrective surgeries and follow-up care for burn patients.
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Ritima is a 6-year-old girl from the far eastern plains of Nepal. She was born with a birth defect known as syndactyly, which means fused fingers on both hands. Ritima was reluctant to go to school because of her abnormal-looking hands. She had been the subject of ridicule among her peers and feared due to superstitions about birth defects. She was isolated from her peers and community. Ritima came to our attention while the mobile medical team was in Biratnagar, near her hometown, during one of our screening camps. Functionally, her condition did not handicap her, but if left untreated, it could cause the longer of the two fingers to bend towards the shorter one during growth, and leave it bent, even if separated.
Once Ritima knew her fingers could be separated and . ,look normal, she was very happy. A key challenge in helping children like Ritima, who live in rural areas of Nepal, is that it can take many hours to reach the nearest clinic or medical assistance. From where Ritima lives, it usually takes more than 18 hours of bus travel to get to Kathmandu. Because of our rural outreach surgical camps, she only had to travel 4-5 hours to get to Biratnagar. After Ritima had her surgery in Biratnagar, she was delighted during the first dressing change to see her fingers separate. We did the surgery on only one hand because bandaging and plaster on both the hands makes it difficult for the children to take care of themselves. We performed surgery successfully on the other hand three months later. Ritima is now back in school and playing with her friends, and enjoying her life with her family. Instead of a life of isolation and no opportunities, she now has a promising future.
As we near the close of 2012, Children's Medical Aid Foundation (CMAF) is pleased to celebrate the Nepalese children whose lives have been transformed by corrective surgery, sponsored through support of our Corrective Surgery Program. Under the direction of Nepalese plastic surgeon Dr. Shankar Rai, 131 children received corrective surgeries and physical therapy treatments. Thirty percent of these surgeries were performed at Kathmandu Model Hospital by the Plastic Surgery Department; and 70% were performed by the mobile surgical team in13 rural outreach camps in Butwal, Nepalgang, Biratnagarr, Pokhara, and Suket. In addition, CMAF donated 50 pounds of medical textbooks to facilitate the education of Nepalese nurses and technicians at Kathmandu Model Hospital who participate in the Corrective Surgery Program.
I've been in Nepal since October 2012, primarily to meet with Dr. Rai and conduct needs assessments with the Corrective Surgery Medical Team. I have also been meeting with Nepal-based NGOs to explore partnerships for mobile eye and dental clinics in rural Nepal; and I am arranging medical tours to go to Nepal in 2013. The medical tours will combine in-the-field volunteer opportunities for medical professionals with an exciting sightseeing itinerary. Proceeds from the tours will benefit CMAF programs. Thank you to all those who have shared our vision and passion for children and families in Nepal. We look forward to many new adventures in the coming year!
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