Bezoek aan SCPA Nepal

Verslag van een dierenarts over haar bezoek aan het asiel van SPCA in Nepal

By Stephanie Vanhamme

In early August '17, I came by plane to Kathmandu. It takes some getting used to, the chaos, the dirty roads and humid monsoon heat. On day two I met some people from the animal organization SPCA Nepal. Dr. Umesh Mandal veterinarian two months after which I will work.

The start was a bit difficult. During the rainy season, there must be improvised every day and everything is difficult. Most roads are unpaved and muddy by the rain, making it difficult to bring stray dogs to the shelter where they can be sterilized. It was also there during the first week I was in Nepal, there were severe floods in the south-east of the country, near the Indian border.
verslag nepal image 1
Dr. Umesh was asked to go to the flooded areas to provide help and asked me to go, what I wanted to do, of course. There disease outbreaks were reported in cattle, where there were many animals died in a few days.

In a bus full of medicine, food and clothing (which we got from other humanitarian organizations) I went with a group of final year vet students to the lower regions of Nepal, who are most affected by the floods.

Just left Kathmandu already started to dance and sing to the students on the bus, others helped me to take my book base by Nepali and spend my first words in this difficult language. The atmosphere was so great that this very long drive seemed to go surprisingly quickly.
dieren redden van overstroming
And what kind of a surreal world I came, when I was the bus trip and immediately came up mud in a thick layer with both feet, surrounded by rice fields destroyed. After we got over the initial shock and amazement, we packed several boxes of medicines and instruments from the bus and searched the local people in the tiny remote villages.

Some with their animals had fled to a higher plateau, where they had set up a makeshift tent for sleeping. We took care of it the cows, buffalo and goats, which they had to take. Many had diarrhea and were very weak.
Sommigen waren samen met hun dieren gevlucht naar een hoger gelegen plateau, waar ze een tentje geïmproviseerd hadden opgezet als slaapplaats. We verzorgden er de koeien, buffels en geiten, die ze nog hadden kunnen meenemen. Velen hadden diarree en waren erg zwak.
Operatie op de vloer
The people were very grateful that we are their animals - their literally vital - could help. Fortunately we have thereby many animals can indeed save lives.

It occurred to me then that I myself, accustomed to luxury, it might not survive in such circumstances. We can do a lot in some very long days. It gave me a lot of satisfaction afterwards. And it was also a week of my life I will never forget!
Karbouwen met ploegende vrouw

How to get to the SPCA Nepal and where do you stay?

To briefly summarize, Nepal is not like all Western Europe. I took the plane from Schiphol (flights are often cheaper than from Brussels) to Kathmandu.

The first month I was staying in the town of Thamel because there is no private property in the shelter of the SPCA. Hostels cost 5 to 6 euros per day and the service was fine. Via Facebook groups you can easily find an apartment to rent alone or share with someone. I did the 2nd month. It took me about 150 euros per month.

Thamel is the tourist spot of Kathmandu, full of outdoor shops, hippie clothing and cute cafes among the many temples in the small streets. Here and there are still some remains visible from the earthquake in 2015.
Vrouw met hondjes
From Thamel I had to take the bus to the shelter of the SPCA (bus stop: Hattigauda). You can not read what is written on the bus is so you can choose between: Hattigauda 'call for each bus or ask someone they stop the right bus for you. Every local resident on the street will help you, Nepalis are very friendly and many people in Kathmandu speak English.

You should not be scared of the traffic, which only gives stress. Sometimes the buses are so full that you still only see the person which leans against you .... The bus stop is another 25 min. Walk to the shelter. Another option is to buy/rent a bike. Then it is advisable to wear a fabric cap over your mouth and nose and keep in mind that everyone (bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus) all drive to the left of the road.
Autobus in Nepal

Ontspanning

After work I often went wall climbing, but there are many options. Because the community is so open, it is easy to meet new people and do activities together with them. Many Westerners working for humanitarian organizations.

I visited Kathmandu on my own, but I rarely felt only me here. There are trail runs on Saturday and you can easily take the bus just outside Kathmandu to enjoy nature. If you volunteer in Nepal is obviously a must to do a trek afterwards in the beautiful Himalayas. Many treks you can do alone or with friends. This is cheaper than going through an agent, saving you lots of money. For those interested in yoga and / or meditation, there are many options too.
Muurklimmen in Nepal

Working at the shelter

The work is not so well organized/ tructured (like everything else in Nepal), but there was a lot of goodwill with Ms. Malika, the shelter holds SPCA and veterinarian I worked with (Dr Umesh).

Especially because of the many medical procedures as a result of the natural disaster of the last few days, there were almost no medicines and supplies left in the small private clinic and asylum.

I reported it to Hanno Berger of Stichting Dierennood (Animals in distress foundation), which had mediated me through his beautiful website www.vetstudents.eu. He emailed me back that he had planned for an extra aid project on their website www.dierennood.nl especially for the animal flood victims in Nepal.

After exchange of some emails , he made an 1,000 euro extra donation to the shelter. This allowed it to purchase much needed food and equipment.
Nepalese vrouw met hondjes
I then did the people of SPCA able to persuade to spend more stray dogs to the shelter so I could carry more sterilizations. At work lacks that not everywhere you see stray dogs! Stray cats you see much less. I had no feline patient in 2 months. Dr Umesh also works half days in his own practice and you will be happy to take back his bike to go to the various farms. He works mainly with private cattle. Occasionally there is also an injured cow or calf brought into the shelter with their own makeshift animal ambulance from the SPCA. The cows are just loose on the busy streets, so you can imagine the chaos and heavy traffic occasionally an animal is unfortunately hit ...

Conclusion

In Nepal work is not for everyone. You'll western structured spirit, punctuality and speed, should be able to let go. Everything takes much longer (especially in the rainy season) by the poor infrastructure and organization. If that accepts and just do what you can do, it's fine. You have to think too much, what you want to do had, but just based on the real possibilities that there may or may not be. All you can do as a veterinarian, is indeed very useful and much appreciated. By sincere people, but also by the animals themselves .... Nepal is a politically corrupt country, you also notice many things around you. Let distract you but not too much there through. However, local residents and nature give this country so much beauty that I personally chaos and sometimes felt so much discomfort. Culturally this is a very exciting and rewarding destination. I thought it was beautiful to see how the Hindu and Buddhist religions that peacefully coexist. There are even temples for both simultaneously. That's another way to do it! There are several organizations working for street dogs in Nepal. You are almost always welcome in Nepal. CAT (Kathmandu Animal Treatment) Center is another fairly large organization, but as a volunteer you can do no sterilization! These are only done by the local veterinarian who officially works. If you still want more information or have specific questions, you can through Hanno Berger (www.vetstudents.eu or by mail info@dierenstages.nl) this question to me.