My apologies for not updating more currently. The goal is to be updating at the end of every week and I'll start that now.
So to bring the logistics up to speed. My scheduled departure is now March 09, 2010 @ 0010. Cathay Pacific, my newest favourite airline, has generously decided to allow me 10 checkins at no extra cost. I'll be in Nepal for 9.5wks departing May 15, 2010 @ 2315.
My time is Nepal will be split several different ways. Goals include
1. Re-establish ties with Sandip - my host -, his friends, local Lazimpat community people and fellow local brothers and sisters.
2. Support and affirm the work of Drs. Shakya and Shrestha at the International Friendship Childrens Hospital. This where neonatal infant flow CPAP program will be launched.
3. Support and affirm the work of the Environment and Public Health Organization, both old employees and new employees
4. Establish new links the the medical community within Kathmandu (ie. Teaching Hospital) and attend the 15th annual Nepal Pediatric Society conference Mar 25-27.
5. Establish new contact with physicians @ the United Mission Hospital in Tansen, Palpa. I hope to do this trip with my aunt who is a retired RN/midwife when she comes in late March-early April. I've established ties with a Christian physician there whom I've been very encouraged by in our conversations over email so far. I'll be bringing in some equipment (1 Infant Flow Driver/1 case Generators/Blender/O2 analyzer,etc) and also do some teaching int he 1.5wks that we hope to spend there. We're going at a time that should be well before Monsoon to prevent any travel issues that may arise.
Support has been steadily rolling in the form of equipment and finance. Prayer support is still lacking in my opinion.
Prayer items:
1. More prayer partners: especially for Tuesday --> Friday.
2. Need focus to finish off presentations. There's a ton more work than I orginally anticipated that goes into this...
3. Logistics: Customs letters for getting all the equipment through.
20.2.10
30.1.10
Weekly update
So spent a lot of time going through some lectures by Randy Pausch - author of Last Lecture who was basically giving a lecture on how to live your life for his kids after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Lots of good honest truth in what he has to say. It's just a shame that we as a society think that we are so safe and free from the clutches of death in our earlier years. I pray that Christians might live with the Spirit's energy in such a way that leave people undoubtedly knowing that they have had an encounter with the presence of God.
An update on the trip so far. This trip has been continually haunting me. On the one hand, I feel as if failure is highly probable given the craziness of this undertaking. But on the other hand, I realize that all things are possible shoudl this be something that God desires. I've been very blessed with the accountability of some people pushing me on (e.g. BABU buddies). This week has also been extremely awesome for a couple of milestone markers.
Below are update bulletins
a) Infant flow driver obtained. It is currently being shipped to Canada now from some company from the states who picked it up not knowing what to do with it. It's costing more to ship than the actual purchase. It should be here on Feb 08 for inspection. The thing is, they aren't sure whether this thing will work or not...
b) Infant flow nasal canulas: Just gotten confirmation from one of my super cool work places that deals a lot with neonates and they will be donating spare unused supplies, both a bulk set + will continue to keep spares for us. My super cool employer has been wonderfully supportive since I joined them back in July 08.
c) Still need some supplies, but leads are going well. I also received some correspondance from another company that is considering donating a unit capable of providing bilevel positive airway pressure! super cool, but no confirmed donation yet!
d) Presentations: These are slowly coming along. I need to sit down next week and really go through some material to pump out some documents.
e) The abstract was sent last week for the NEPAS (Nepal Pediatric Society) 15th annual conference. I hope to present there. No news back yet.
f) Another super cool company has secured at least 1 and maybe 2 humidifier pots for donation. This is super cool!
g) airline tickets seem decently priced.
h) Presentation booked for Sunday at church
i) Pending presentations at hospitals.
j) My society has volunteered to publish help in their newsletters. They are awesome!
It for now. I'm tired and need sleep
An update on the trip so far. This trip has been continually haunting me. On the one hand, I feel as if failure is highly probable given the craziness of this undertaking. But on the other hand, I realize that all things are possible shoudl this be something that God desires. I've been very blessed with the accountability of some people pushing me on (e.g. BABU buddies). This week has also been extremely awesome for a couple of milestone markers.
Below are update bulletins
a) Infant flow driver obtained. It is currently being shipped to Canada now from some company from the states who picked it up not knowing what to do with it. It's costing more to ship than the actual purchase. It should be here on Feb 08 for inspection. The thing is, they aren't sure whether this thing will work or not...
b) Infant flow nasal canulas: Just gotten confirmation from one of my super cool work places that deals a lot with neonates and they will be donating spare unused supplies, both a bulk set + will continue to keep spares for us. My super cool employer has been wonderfully supportive since I joined them back in July 08.
c) Still need some supplies, but leads are going well. I also received some correspondance from another company that is considering donating a unit capable of providing bilevel positive airway pressure! super cool, but no confirmed donation yet!
d) Presentations: These are slowly coming along. I need to sit down next week and really go through some material to pump out some documents.
e) The abstract was sent last week for the NEPAS (Nepal Pediatric Society) 15th annual conference. I hope to present there. No news back yet.
f) Another super cool company has secured at least 1 and maybe 2 humidifier pots for donation. This is super cool!
g) airline tickets seem decently priced.
h) Presentation booked for Sunday at church
i) Pending presentations at hospitals.
j) My society has volunteered to publish help in their newsletters. They are awesome!
It for now. I'm tired and need sleep
23.1.10
Worthwhile investment!
So I've been looking into investments recently, here are some numbers to convince you to consider investing in Nepal...
Your chance to sponsor the inaugural neonatal CPAP program in Nepal!
The Facts.
The Situation: Making sense of the numbers.
The Opportunity.
The Facts
All data taken from the World Health Organization (WHO) Statistics 2009 available online @ http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are from 2007.
The Situation: Making sense of the numbers
Considering the statics above and having journeyed there to better understand the situation, it is clear that neonatal and pediatric healthcare in Nepal is severely lacking. Neonatal mortality is a key indicator of child and maternal health according to the WHO. With a neonatal mortality rate of over 10x the national Canadian average it is quite concerning.
Around the globe, neonatal death accounts for ~20% of the <5 year old deaths. Nepal’s statistics suggest that neonatal deaths account for almost 60% of the <5 year old deaths. According to the WHO Nepal mortality fact sheet 2006, prematurity accounts for 20% of neonatal deaths.
Within the last 2 decades, Nepalis have been relocating to urban centres at a rate of greater than 4% per decade. As urbanization occurs, clean water, improved sanitation and education becomes more accessible to the general public. The capacity of healthcare facilities is feeling the strains now with the increased number of patients. With only 2 hospital beds per 10 000 persons in the country, that is 17x less than what is available in Canada. There is also a need for doctors as only 2 doctors are present per 10 000 people. Within Nepal there exists only one government pediatric hospital (Kanti Bal Aspital). A second private hospital just opened last year (International Friendship Childrens’ Hospital – http://www.ifch.com.np/) effectively doubling the number of PICU/NICU beds in the country overnight.
The Opportunity
There is a unique opportunity for your organization to help out this promising hospital with necessary equipment for them to provide essential services to a population in dire need. Your equipment will be managed by Bringing About Better Understanding (BABU), a Canadian charity dedicated to improving the level of child healthcare in Nepal. Additionally, any donations made out to us will be able to go a long way given the purchasing power parity (PPP) of your donation.
Thank you for your interest in helping out. If you have any questions, comments, queries or advice. Please feel free to contact me @ Eric@ideas2implementations.org. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Peace.
Abstract: http://www.ideas2implementations.org/nCPAP.doc
General letter: http://www.ideas2implementations.org/Nepal.doc
Your chance to sponsor the inaugural neonatal CPAP program in Nepal!
The Facts.
The Situation: Making sense of the numbers.
The Opportunity.
The Facts
All data taken from the World Health Organization (WHO) Statistics 2009 available online @ http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009/en/index.html. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are from 2007.
| Global Health Indicator | Canada | Nepal | Statistical notes |
| Mortality and burden of disease | |||
| Neonatal mortality (deaths within <=28days) | 3 | 32 | per 1 000 live births |
| Infant mortality (deaths within 1yr) | 5 | 43 | per 1 000 live births |
| Under 5-mortality | 6 | 55 | per 1 000 live births |
| Health service coverage | |||
| Antenatal care coverage: at least 1 visit | No data | 44 | % 2000-2008 |
| Antenatal care coverage: at least 4 visit | No data | 29 | % 2000-2008 |
| Births attended by skilled attendant | 98 | 9 | % 1990-1999 |
| 100 | 19 | % 2000-2008 | |
| Health workforce, infrastructure | |||
| Physicians | 19 | 2 | per 10 000 population |
| Nurses | 101 | 5 | per 10 000 population |
| Dentists | 12 | less than 1 | per 10 000 population |
| Other health service providers | no data | 2 | per 10 000 population |
| Hospital beds | 34 | 2 | per 10 000 population |
| Demographic and Socioeconomic Statistics | |||
| Living in urban areas | 77 | 9 | % in 1990 |
| 79 | 13 | % in 2000 | |
| 80 | 17 | % in 2007 | |
| population living at less than 1$/day | no data | 54.7 | 2005 |
| Cause-specific mortality and morbidity | |||
| Access to improved drinking water sources | 1 | 0.89 | |
| Access to improved sanitation | 1 | 0.27 | 45% urban Nepal and 24% in rural Nepal |
| Health Expenditure | |||
| Total expenditure on health | 10 | 5.1 | as % of GDP (2006) |
| Government expenditure on health | 17.8 | 9.2 | as % total government expenditure (2006) |
| External resource for health | 0 | 15.7 | % of total expenditure on health (2006) |
| Per capita total health expenditure | 3917 | 17 | in US dollar amount (2006) |
| Per capita government health expenditure | 2759 | 5 | in US dollar amount (2006) |
| Out of pocket expenditure | 49 | 85.2 | as % of private expenditure on health (2006) |
The Situation: Making sense of the numbers
Considering the statics above and having journeyed there to better understand the situation, it is clear that neonatal and pediatric healthcare in Nepal is severely lacking. Neonatal mortality is a key indicator of child and maternal health according to the WHO. With a neonatal mortality rate of over 10x the national Canadian average it is quite concerning.
Around the globe, neonatal death accounts for ~20% of the <5 year old deaths. Nepal’s statistics suggest that neonatal deaths account for almost 60% of the <5 year old deaths. According to the WHO Nepal mortality fact sheet 2006, prematurity accounts for 20% of neonatal deaths.
Within the last 2 decades, Nepalis have been relocating to urban centres at a rate of greater than 4% per decade. As urbanization occurs, clean water, improved sanitation and education becomes more accessible to the general public. The capacity of healthcare facilities is feeling the strains now with the increased number of patients. With only 2 hospital beds per 10 000 persons in the country, that is 17x less than what is available in Canada. There is also a need for doctors as only 2 doctors are present per 10 000 people. Within Nepal there exists only one government pediatric hospital (Kanti Bal Aspital). A second private hospital just opened last year (International Friendship Childrens’ Hospital – http://www.ifch.com.np/) effectively doubling the number of PICU/NICU beds in the country overnight.
The Opportunity
There is a unique opportunity for your organization to help out this promising hospital with necessary equipment for them to provide essential services to a population in dire need. Your equipment will be managed by Bringing About Better Understanding (BABU), a Canadian charity dedicated to improving the level of child healthcare in Nepal. Additionally, any donations made out to us will be able to go a long way given the purchasing power parity (PPP) of your donation.
Thank you for your interest in helping out. If you have any questions, comments, queries or advice. Please feel free to contact me @ Eric@ideas2implementations.org. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Peace.
Abstract: http://www.ideas2implementations.org/nCPAP.doc
General letter: http://www.ideas2implementations.org/Nepal.doc
20.1.10
Motivation...
Wow, whoever thought doing development work would be this difficult. Beyond organising ideas and thoughts, parsing through data from the Central Intelligence Agency's World Fact Book, World Health Organization and United Nations Childrens' Fund.. It's quite draining and depressing going through all the data... Much easier to develop policies and procedures for best practise... Going to try and sleep it off...
19.1.10
Sponsorship opportunity
Hi,
Thank you for your interest in this exciting return trip toNepal
Thank you for your interest in this exciting return trip to
Through the help of mentors and SickKids, I was able to bring a pocket spirometer to Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) and conduct a pilot lung function study with the traffic police in
Upon return, I partnered with other likeminded people to start a charity. We’re proud to say that Bringing About Better Understanding - BABU which in Nepali means baby boy – is now a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency! BABU exists to improve the level of child healthcare available in
If you think that you might be able to help in any shape or form that would be greatly appreciated. Through BABU, you can be certain that any donation will get to IFCH and be used to service those in most need. During my first visit, equipment that my friend and I acquired for the only government pediatric hospital in the country went mysteriously missing in less than 2wks. We have learned our lesson and we now have a formal process to manage all donated equipment to ensure that it a) does not grow legs and b) remains in use.
Please feel free to forward my contact information to anyone who may be of help or is simply interested in global healthcare. Thank you for your time and attention. I appreciate any thoughts, comments or suggestions!
Hope you are having an excellent start to the new year!
Eric Cheng
Reactivation!
It's time once again. I'm so excited to be able to return to Nepal. It's more of a necessity in that being there last time really just tore my heart open. It was the first time I was in a developing country and saw the injustices and shear lack of common knowledge getting people into lots of trouble - much of which involved unbearable pain and even death.
So I've wrestled with what type of world I live in in North America, where I can learn about the troubles of the world, but yet still be very removed from it. After meeting some rural families in Nepal, I realized the futility of the lavish North American life and learned about the simplicity and beauty life offers just on it's own lived in harmony with the people around you. I vowed to go back and discover more about this way of life and also to contribute some of the things I picked up in school and living in Canada. I love Canada!
So the struggle begins, to get time off here and return. People think I'm mad, but to me there is something mysteriously revitalizing about hanging out with people and simply enjoying each others company. I was challenged by this in a sermon. To value people and use money rather than using people and valuing money.
So I've wrestled with what type of world I live in in North America, where I can learn about the troubles of the world, but yet still be very removed from it. After meeting some rural families in Nepal, I realized the futility of the lavish North American life and learned about the simplicity and beauty life offers just on it's own lived in harmony with the people around you. I vowed to go back and discover more about this way of life and also to contribute some of the things I picked up in school and living in Canada. I love Canada!
So the struggle begins, to get time off here and return. People think I'm mad, but to me there is something mysteriously revitalizing about hanging out with people and simply enjoying each others company. I was challenged by this in a sermon. To value people and use money rather than using people and valuing money.
5.9.08
Sponsor me in the 2008 Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge at the Waterfront half-marathon!
Heyo,
Sorry for the spam update, but hope that you are all well. Email me and I'll rep.
So I'm back at it after finishing respiratory therapy school. I love my job and I've picked up running again to increase quiet time and trying to raise funds for one of my current employers. Life is quite different on a shift work schedule, but slowly getting used to the pros/cons of this phase of life.
I'll be running the half-marathon on Sept 28/08 (Scotia Toronto Waterfront). You can help support me by making a secure online donation using your credit card. Click on the link below:
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=1937014
For more information on how YOU can participate in the 2008 Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, please visit us at http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/charity.htm .
Thanks for your support!
Peace,
e
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