Medical Trek to Nepal

My name is Charity Kaiser, and I'm a 4th year medical student at SLU. In less than a week, I will be boarding a plane heading for Nepal to take part in a medical trek with Himalayan Family Healthcare Project (HFHP). Our team includes two other SLU students and a team of American and Nepalese doctors and nurses, and we will be providing medical care at a health camp in a rural village.

I have been interested in global health for some time, and I hope to practice international medicine in my future career. Naturally, my interest was peaked when I saw an announcement about this medical trek opportunity. After meeting HFHP founder Dr. Devi States and hearing his inspirational personal story, I knew this was a project I wanted to be a part of.

Dr. States was born in Nepal and was orphaned as an early adolescent. After living on the streets in Kathmandu, he was adopted by an American physician and brought back to the United States where he received his education in public health. He has fulfilled one life dream by opening a restaurant, Everest Cafe, where he and his wife Connie serve delicious Nepalese food (I especially recommend the lunch buffet!). Now he is pursuing his second life goal of bringing medical care to the impoverished people living in his native Manang District. The goal is to establish positive relationships with the people and community leaders through these annual medical treks, and ultimately to build and staff a hospital in the region.

Throughout our trip, I will post updates here as often as possible. In the meantime, if you are interested in supporting our trip by attending the "Night in Nepal" fundraising event this Saturday October 20th or by making a tax-deductible donation, please check out the website here.