Page 26 - QARANC Vol 14 No 12 2016

24 QARANC THE GAZETTE
to see Health and Safety being taken very seriously by the Troop, who requested a medical brief as part of the site induction in addition to the one I had provided during the RSOI package and once work had commenced PPE was always worn correctly on site. Maintaining the troop’s health was critical throughout the deployment as evacuation of a serious illness or injury would have been very challenging. With no MERT or Role 2/3 to refer or evacuate to we were reliant on HEALIX International, a company used by the MOD to provide medical assistance overseas. Evacuation would be provided by one of the in- country civilian helicopter companies but which had no medical capability and could only fly during daylight. Road moves would be uncomfortable and prolonged due to the distance and terrain, with in-transit care having to be provided in the back of one of our civilian 4x4 vehicles. Host Nation medical support was limited to a few hospitals in Kathmandu recommended by HEALIX; however this did not stop us undertaking medical recces in all our locations to assess the feasibility of using them in extremis or as holding areas whilst waiting for air evacuation.
Whilst in Jiri I had the opportunity to meet the GWS medical staff who looked after the retired Gurkhas and their families. The staff comprised of a full time medical assistant at the AWC as well as doctors and community nurses who visited regularly and would tell me about their work. Patients could be seen in the AWC however for those who lived in the hills and unable to walk, the doctors and nurses would trek out carrying medical supplies, often taking
A local dog after receiving ‘mala’ and ‘tika’ during Kukur (dog) Tihar
days to reach the most remote villages. Completion of our tasks in Jiri took about six weeks after which we moved to our second task site to construct another school and two small stone houses for retired Gurkha families. This was in Pachok, a small community in the district of Lamjung and approximately eight hours drive west of Kathmandu. Living conditions here became more austere for us, however being away from town provided the opportunity to experience rural village life and appreciate the stunning scenery Nepal has to offer. Our troop harbour area was situated on a small area of dusty land measuring approximately 50m x 25m, surrounded by a small river that split into two then rejoined further down. To get to it meant a small river crossing in vehicles or hopping across some large stones if on foot,
therefore it soon became known as ‘Gurkha Island’. Although it was small, it was possibly the only flat area of land to be seen for miles as steep valley sides rose dramatically all around us with small rocky paths weaving their way up the sides to small communities perched at the top. To one side we had a magnificent waterfall cascading down from a natural spring at the top which the Gurkhas resourcefully managed to climb up and place very long tubing in to provide us with a water source. Although our ‘waterfall shower’ was a great water feature in our constructed field shower, it was unfortunately too cold to actually wash in except by the exceptionally brave. It did however provide us with constant running water to heat up for showering, wash our clothes in and fill the WPU with. The other remarkable features here were the steep terraces which also surrounded us and are common throughout Nepal. Created over many generations to make maximum use of the land for growing crops, we would often see people out tending to them, harvesting or buffalo ploughing them.
It soon became apparent that ‘Gurkha Island’ was used as a thoroughfare for anything and anyone on foot heading further up the valley. Various animals passed through daily and included families of goats, buffalo, sheep and mules either with or without a herder but always seeming to know where they were heading. People would often walk through with a kukri (the traditional Nepali knife with a large curved blade) attached to their side and a ‘doko’ (a large cone shaped wicker basket) on their back held in
A young girl performs a traditional dance during village celebrations in Pachok