Himalayan Outreach Foundation

During the Fall of 2007, the Juniper Trust graciously directed a grant towards an HOF program which furthers the UN MDG focus. Juniper Trust’s support will finance the purchase of a solar panel, as well as an extensive order of medical equipment for HOF ’s Emergency Obstetric Care unit in the Rasuwa District of Nepal. These items will be sent to the HOF medical clinic, situated in a remote region in the northcentral part of the country, located 20 kilometers south of the Tibetan border. The clinic provides preventative healthcare for a catchment area of more than 7,000 villagers; it’s specially equipped Emergency Obstetric Care unit provides life-saving emergency delivery and stabilization services for rural-living women and their infants.

Because of the Juniper Trust’s generous contribution, this medical unit will provide more enhanced Emergency Obstetric Care services than ever before. The solar panel will provide a consistent and powerful source of electricity to power the newly donated equipment:

High-powered medical lamps for night deliveries, Autoclaves which sterilize medical instruments, Refrigeration units which store drugs and I/V fluids at proper temperatures, Infant core heaters used to regulate fragile body temperatures of prematurely born infants, Portable Ultra-Sound Dopplers which allow rural women to “see” the fetal heartbeat for the first time.

HOF commends the Juniper Trust for their heartfelt generosity, and for their undying commitment to support programs that benefit remote, mountain communities.

A letter from Rasuwa... November 2007

Dear Juniper Trust directors,

We just returned back from Rasuwa, and we have some great photos to share with you. I really must thank you all again for your tremendous generosity. Thanks to Juniper Trust's support, we have now upgraded our emergency obstetric care unit with wonderful new equipment -- and an increased ability to provide better-quality services for the mothers and infants we serve. Much of the equipment granted through your endowment is among the first of its kind in the Rasuwa district. Refrigeration units, the infant core heater, and the portable doppler ultra-sound unit are unique, and unavailable even in the district hospital.

It was really such a sight as hundreds of villagers came down to the clinic the day the equipment arrived. They were so curious as we set things up, and the pregnant women of the village queued up immediately to have their first doppler ultra-sound performed by our medical staff. Watching the smiles on their faces sort of took our breath away, as they realized that they were "seeing" their unborn baby's fetal heartbeat.

The photos I have attached (See gallery)

1 Our rural delivery room with some of its new features
2 The first ultra-sound performed in Rasuwa
3 Infant in heated crib -- used for regulating low-birth-weight neonates
4 The first refrigeration unit in Rasuwa
5 Suction machine -- used to remove after-birth fluids from the infant
6 Two of our most recent arrivals (born this September)

Our medical staff are also thrilled that the solar panel installation will be complete by mid-November--though with the Dashain and Tihar festivals, the installation company definitely made us wait. We thank you for your patience, but as you probably know having worked in Nepal, it is often a bit slow--especially in the mountains. We will update you shortly as the panel installation is complete.

On a final note -- I hope you received our letter of thanks (mailed from Nepal--so please let us know if you have received it), on behalf of myself, our board of directors, and the Himalayan Outreach Foundation. We are also publishing our Annual Report early December, and we will be sure you receive the PDF version via e-mail. We have a lot of exciting changes and new program initiatives in the works, and we look forward to sharing these things with you.

Best regards and sincere thanks,

Rabina & Robin Cole
Himalayan Outreach Foundation
www.outreach-nepal.org