By Teresa Parker | Development Director
Seven years ago, the Nepal Youth Foundation offered to build a Nutritional Rehabilitation Home (NRH) next to the government's "zonal" hospital in the town of Rajbiraj in southeastern Nepal. From the first NRH built in Kathmandu in 1998, Nepal's Minister of Health supported the project and urged NYF to expand these facilities around the country. A goal of 14 NRH's was set, with the intention of establishing an NRH adjacent to each of the country's zonal hospitals.
In 2004, NYF approached the administrator for the Sagarmatha zonal hospital in Rajbiraj. The hospital itself was in desperate need of upkeep and the conditions for the patients were very poor and unsanitary. One of the most unhealthy aspects of the site was an open pond right on the hospital grounds into which biological waste was dumped. We were certain that the NRH would be a welcome addition as a place to provide long-term care for infants and children suffering malnutrition, a frequent cause of children's hospitalization. However, the administrator refused the offer.
Yet, NYF did not forget their commitment to build an NRH by every hospital. So our staff kept offering. This year, Sagarmatha hospital's new administrator said, "Yes." In less than half a year, the new NRH was built and opened its doors to children and their caregivers.
And, the most wondrous part of the story is the open waste pit was emptied, disinfected and backfilled and is now the very place on which the NRH stands. Yes, "out of the mud grows the lotus."
On behalf of the children we serve, thank you for your support. For more information please visit our website, www.nepalyouthfoundation.org. Follow this link to watch our new 4 minute video:http://bit.ly/uv6is2.
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