Kathmandu, Nepal
When the phone rings at We See You, we never quite know what to expect these days. It could be a local hospital or library wanting to donate materials, a member of the community wanting more information about the program, or a request for a container to some far-off place that we never could have predicted in a million years.Last summer, we had one of those calls from Gary Harding, a Saskatchewan resident who recently retired from his job in Saskatoon and has dedicated himself to working in communities such as Uganda, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan for a non-profit organization called ASTI- Acid Survivors Trust International.
Over a cup of coffee one afternoon, Gary began to educate We See You team members of the horrors that exist in many communities that he works with involving acid attacks, and the impacts of acid violence on women and children who live a life of pain and isolation. We came to learn that acid violence is a form of premeditated violence, usually against women, involving throwing corrosive acid at the face of the victim. Acid violence rarely kills but always destroys lives. Sadly often children are caught in the crossfire of this violence as well.
A survivor of an acid attack, even if she (or he) has been able to get good and early treatment, will for the rest of her life have a scarred and often disfigured face. All too often she then will have to cope with social isolation and ostracism which further undermines her self-esteem and confidence. So the trauma is not only physical but psychological and social. Formed by a plastic surgeon from the UK, ASTI has been working in these communities to provide much needed surgeries to relieve some of the pain and anguish of those affected by this atrocity against women and children at the hands of their very own loved ones.
Even though many of the locations Gary works in are outside of our specific target of Africa, we couldn’t stop thinking about the work that ASTI performs in rehabilitating those impacted by acid violence, we couldn’t stand by and let Gary’s work go unsupported. We committed that afternoon to help him outfit a new clinic in Nepal. The time has come for us to keep that promise, and we know that our army of volunteers is ready more than ready for the challenge.
About Nepal
Officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Nepal is a landlocked country in Southern Asia and is the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's of China, and to the south, east and west by the Republic of India. Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture and religions. The mountainous north contains eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest.
Learn more about ASTI
How WSY Met A Specific Need
ASTI’s container will be able help open up a brand new clinic in Nepal. The majority of the container contents were filled with medical supplies and equipment to help furnish the new clinic, and included hospital beds, stretchers, wheelchairs, surgical supplies, and special equipment and supplies specifically for treating burns. Students from Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon raised $800 for ASTI through a school fundraiser where classes competed to raise the most funds- the winning class got to pie their teacher in the face. Youth and mentors from the Big Sisters Program in Regina also made a contribution by making one of their group activity dates a day with us at the hospital - we had girls as young as 8 years old helping us sort and pack medical equipment! As the container was restricted to primarily medical equipment, we did not hold a huge drive for items, but instead asked volunteers to help pack and sort all the equipment donated from the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region.
This container just left Canadian borders in January - stay tuned for more news and updates regarding the container's journey and arrival into Nepal by following our Nepal news.
Overview
Community: Nepal is located in asia and borders Tibet and India. It is also the home of Mt Everest, which lies on the border of Nepal and Tibet in the Himalayas. Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and is also the largest city in the country.Population: The population of Nepal is 22 million people and Kathmandu is home to more than 7 million people.
Average Income: The average income in the country is $419 per person.
Crisis: For this particular container, We See You will be teaming up with ASTI to respond to victims of acid burn, a terrible and cheap weapon used usually against women which involves throwing corrosive acid at the face of the victim. Acid violence rarely kills but it always destroys lives, often young lives.
