 Team 23's first group photo as NepalAbility returns to Nepal. From left to right, Dr. Nora Cullen (Physiatrist), Dr. Katie Cheliak (Physiatry Resident), James Bardy (Occupational Therapist) and Alex Bagley (Physiotherapist). From the desk of NepalAbility Chair, Dr. Nora Cullen This has been yet another year like no other. While we have been challenged to care for our patients here in Canada through the pandemic, we have been committed to helping improve the lives of people with disabilities in Nepal. This Giving Tuesday, we are delighted to again offer the opportunity for you to double your impact, with an anonymous donor matching up donations, up to $5000, on this page. Travel constraints over the last year have kept us from being physically present in Nepal, but I am happy to report that we have continued to address the educational needs of our partners in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains by using remote learning tools. You will see in this newsletter how we were able to engage several expert teachers here in Canada to meet online with the people we serve in order to address their learning needs. With a 10-hour time difference, this has been challenging, but not impossible thanks to the hard work and attention to detail of Dr. McKyla McIntyre and the Education team. There remained a need to continue our mission of advancing inter-professional education and mentorship in Nepal, despite travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. From June 2021 to October 2022, the NepalAbility Education Committee delivered 10 live video-conferenced sessions, on topics identified through a needs assessment with our Nepali colleagues, including the top 5 highest priority areas: Cardiac rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, burns, stroke, and brain injury. We also added sessions based on requests that arose over the year, such as COVID-19 Rehabilitation and Clinician Self-Care. Sessions involved a combination of case-based learning and didactic sessions, with time for questions. Clinicians from our partner sites attended each session across 20 Zoom accounts, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The lecture recordings and slides are available to our Nepali partners, allowing them to use these materials outside of the sessions. Team 23 will be following up on learning needs during their upcoming work in Nepal, and we look forward to continuing local and distance education efforts in the months to come!  Dr. McKyla McIntyre presenting one of ten online lectures provided to our Nepali colleagues over Zoom
Pictures taken by Team 23 in Tansen (left) and Pokhara (right) on their current trip to Nepal. We are committed to raising funds that will enable our Nepali partners to provide best care for patients with significant disabilities as part of the ongoing mission of our organization. Our Faces of NeuroRehab page highlights the journeys faced by these patients, such as seventeen-year-old Muna below. This involves support for physiotherapy, education, and therapy and mobility equipment. While we not have hosted a formal fundraising effort, we are hopeful that you will rise to the challenge of assisting with this work. Please visit this link to donate. Our financial report has been published by The Veritas Foundation and is also available here.  Read about the journey of Muna, and other patients in their recovery, on our Faces of NeuroRehab page. As you read this, our 23rd team is currently in Nepal for the first time in 3 years. This team consists of physiotherapist Alex Bagley, occupational therapist James Bardy, PM&R resident Katie Cheliak and myself. It is my great honor to be a part of this team and to travel to the other side of the world to support patients with disabilities. Our plan is to reconnect and understand better the care needs, learning gaps and equipment needs that may have changed over the intervening 3 years. We will bring much needed equipment, as well as teach and mentor as we are able. We look forward to joining previous teams in providing you with a summary of our work upon our return!
Pictures of Team 23 on their current visit with our partner sites in Nepal. We look forward to sharing with you updates on their work when they return to Canada! I am hopeful that you will explore our website and read about our work, which has been recently refreshed and also highlighted throughout his newsletter. You will also get a good sense of what has been happening on the ground in Nepal! This year your donations will once again have double their impact thanks to an anaonymous donor. Help us reach our fundraising goal of $10, 000! With your help, the future looks incredibly bright for our work going forward.
Take care, Nora Cullen
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