Work

I just realized I have told you lots about hanging out, but not much about actually working, what I'm actually here to do. I will just give you a little bit, because talking about it becomes overwhelming.

I think the main thing I need to do is go back to Biratnagar and visit a few more program districts. What I have gathered from lots of sources kind of says that yes, there are lots of broad adaptations that you can apply regionally, but if I really want to submit an actual, workable, plan it needs to be very site-specific.

I have talked to people from a few organizations, but they have been sort of dead ends. This afternoon A lady from the Institute of Medicine of Tribhuvan University (the big college here) is meeting me in my hotel. - She's nice to do this, there has been an ongiong "bandha" or stike for the past few weeks... pretty much since I got here. Travelling around the valley poses a problem unless you have a motorcycle. Striking men everywhere throw rocks at cars who dare to drive on the roads.

Anyways, she should be super helpful. Tomorrow I am going to try to get across the valley to talk to a man from the Nepal Health Research Council, which is part of the Government Health and Population Ministry, then later in the day a man from the Government Department of Epidemiology. Wednesday or Thursday I will meet with another man from World Health Organization- Nepal, Department of Environmental Health.

I want to wait to talk to INGOs who focus on either climate change, or health because I do not want to be that specific yet. So, for now, broad organizations. Actually though, because this is such a big issue here, in the past few years different people and organizations in this field have been having lots of conferences about climate change and / or health. What I mean is that it's great for this part of the world that people are starting to look at what's going on, because I think really soon a lot of people here are going to suffer from the effects of climate change. Already summer famine has started. The monsoon rain already comes too fast and too hard a to grow rice - the obvious food staple around here.

So, these people should get me somewhere, then maybe back to Biratnagar next week. I really don't want to go alone though. Maybe I can arrange to go when Vivek and Dr. Subedi go back for another Tuberculosis conference.

I realize some of this must sound ADD, but I have been thinking about it too much to write about it clearly I guess.


My "office" at BNMT. Third floor, sick view.