The one where they put on their white coats!

Britney chatting with you today!

On April 20 we ate our last traditional Sherpa breakfast here at Kyirmu Lodge with Cathy, Mickey, Pema, Rashmita, her children, and our guides/cooks for the next part of our journey: Raj and Chaita. Pema has fed me so many kiwis from her farm (just me as Ki is allergic) and I couldn’t be any happier. We were absolutely spoiled here with the most delicious traditional food and love from the people all around us.

Image 1: The view from our room at Kyiramu Lodge

Image 2: Pema Sherpa’s family monestary - currently under construction.

We then embarked on a 6 hour jeep ride from Phaplu to Sotang (still in the solukhumbu region). The roads were quite bumpy, but we were able to make it there without any hiccups (after a good dose of gravol).

We were greeted by Shreedwoz Rai, hospital director here in Sotang, and settled into our accommodations for the night after a nice dinner prepared by Raj and Chaita.

Image 3: Left to Right: Britney, Kiley, Mickey, Pema and Cathy.

In the morning (April 21) we headed to the Sotang Primary Hospital to see the work being done at the maternal growth clinic.

Image 4: Kiley walking up to the maternity waiting home at the Sotang Hospital.

Here we saw around 40 mothers come to weigh their babies (all were in the “green” zone!) and receive supercereal, a type of fortified porridge that consists of wheat and dehulled soybeans, milk, sugar, vitamins, and minerals. We gave out donations to the mothers and children (knitted dolls for the slightly older, and knitted hats, blankets and booties for the younger babies) and spent a long time interacting with the community and getting to chat with the nurses about their work.

Image 5: Teaching tools and pictorials in the growth clinic, a hanging scale.

Image 6: Pema, Kiley, Britney, and Cathy creating the donation packages.

Image 7: Britney and Kiley watching as the nurses chart and call out the mothers’ name for their child’s weighing.

We were privileged to meet with the dedicated female community health volunteers of the Sotang area. Among them were seasoned veterans who had begun their journey as traditional birth attendants, while others were newer to the role or following in their family's footsteps. Remarkably, one volunteer had served for an impressive 47 years. They shared with us the vital work they undertake in their communities, particularly in supporting women during pregnancy and postpartum. Through their unwavering commitment, they have earned the trust of their community, often serving as the first point of contact for women seeking healthcare assistance. Additionally, they hold formal consultations with health facilities and hospitals, and obtain respect within the healthcare sphere here.

Our collaboration with them was enriching, as we sought to learn from their expertise and understand their needs. We are especially grateful for their openness in discussing a cultural practice they noted has been impacting health outcomes, particularly umbilical cord infections. They told us how the Rai people of Nepal are sometimes abstaining from hospital birth, as it is a standard of care to apply chlorhexidine to the cord after birth. Chlorhexidine, while effective in preventing infection, often prolongs cord detachment. The Rai ethnic group have a tradition to name babies within 3-5 days after birth, but only feel appropriate to do so if the cord has fallen off. Thus we have noted this, and have shared it with health director Shreedowz in order to ensure this health problem is addressed in the most culturally safe way to that community, and perhaps the Rai people can again feel more safe obtaining hospital care for birth.

A fun anecdote of the day is that they were all incredibly amused by Kiley’s name (as Kiley in nepali means “fourth daughter”, which Kiley coincidentally is).

We finished by returning to the guesthouse and debriefing our day over a delicious dinner of pumpkin soup and homemade momo’s.

Image 8: Raj and Chaita’s delicious dinner!

All photos shared with permission and consent.