Looking backwards and onwards

A couple of days before I left Nepal, Kiran and I sat side by side on the floor in her house with our computers on our laps, our stomachs full of Dal Bhat, and our heads full of planning for the anti-shock garment pilot project. We wrote a planning document together, a couple of middle aged midwives from distant cultures connecting over a plan and a commitment to make it happen. It was a fulfilling evening.

The next day I went to see Dr Regmi at the Ministry of Health to give her the garment I had with me and to update her on our progress. She welcomed me into the office in the middle of her meeting, and requested an immediate demonstration to the staff. Within 5 minutes of my walking into the room there were 20 Nepali civil servants gathered around. Dr Regmi volunteered to be the patient. I appreciated her enthusiasm but rejected the offer as the NASG and a sari is not a modest combination. We did the demonstration on the floor of her office at the Ministry of Health to the delight of all and with many interested questions.  It was a fantastic and inspiring piece of bureacratic informality.

The next day I left. At the airport I met Surya Bhatta who works for One Heart Worldwide which has been working on a pilot program for the anti-shock garment in a rural area. He was on his way to India to pick up some anti-shock garments. Sometimes coincidence is too weird to be believable.

A month later, and back in my Dallas life and midwifery work, those three meetings resonate powerfully in me and give me the momentum and energy to move forward with With Woman in Kathmandu, to make the project happen and to return to Nepal This is my promise.