Brighter futures

20/08/2008
Visiting a hospital or actually being an in-patient can be an unnerving experience for anyone, anywhere. But imagine you’re in Nepal – it’s taken you three days to get to the hospital in the first place; you can’t read or write, so can’t make out the signs, and to cap it all, both you and your clothes are rather dirty.

A friendly face
A friendly face to welcome you can make all the difference. This is where two BMS World Mission supported partner workers’ friendly faces and advice make a world of difference to the patients’ wellbeing. Bishnu Bhattrai works at the government-run Bheri Zonal Hospital and Indira Tamang is a newly-appointed patients’ advocate, working at the INF TB Clinic. Both hospital and clinic are situated in Nepalgunj, in a remote part of Nepal near the Indian border, where the poor, disabled and disadvantaged come, in the hope of a brighter future.

Bishnu
Bishnu will be found at Bheri Zonal Hospital five days a week. She gets to know the patients and tells them about the facilities the hospital offers. It’s usual in Nepal for relatives to accompany patients and help with their personal care. But some come to the hospital alone and are too ill to care for themselves.

Indira and Bishnu

This is where Bishnu takes over and acts like a carer or relative. She helps to bathe patients, cut their nails and hair and sometimes the nurses ask her to dress wounds. She even comes in to attend to patients on a Saturday or Sunday, which are her days off.

Bheri Zonal Hospital has a limited number of free beds it can offer the poor, and free food (patients usually have to provide their own). Sometimes patients need clothes – something the hospital can’t provide. Bishnu has an arrangement with local churches which collect clothes and other items for her to pass on.

Indira
Indira does a similar work in the INF TB Clinic. Those who are treated at the clinic often have to visit other hospitals in the area for their treatment. New to the district, they don’t know where to go: Indira takes them. TB still has a stigma and many patients are rejected by their families. Indira is also involved in counselling patients and leading fellowship times.

Bishnu with a patient at the government's Bheri Zonal Hospital (left) and with hospital workers at INF's TB clinic.

Amrita’s story
Here is a recent, true story of how Bishnu’s help made a difference in the life of Amrita Badi. Amrita is a 22 year-old woman who lived in the far west of Nepal. Married and with two children and pregnant with a third, one day her husband went out to his daily job and was brought back by friends with both his legs broken. He was taken to the local hospital who referred him to the Bheri Zonal Hospital.

With no income coming in, it was extremely difficult for Amrita and her two children to live. Her husband was able to take up the free bed and food but in order to feed herself and children, she had to resort to begging. At the end of July, her baby was born, so both she and her husband were in hospital but were unable to provide for their children. It was at this point that Bishnu met Amrita and was able to provide clothes and food for the family. Together, they are now looking forward to a much brighter future.

Supported partner workers (SPWs) who are not from Britain represent one-third of BMS personnel. They work in their own country or a neighbouring country. Already knowing the language and culture, they can get to work right away without years of study.

They are involved in much the same ministries and activities as other BMS mission personnel: church planting, development, disaster relief, education, health work, and media and advocacy. SPWs are financially supported by BMS for a given period, usually three or five years.

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