UMD Students Kelly and Ariel taking pulses at the Health Mela
Jibhi village has a guesthouse affiliated with Lady Willingdon Hospital in Manali where our University of Maryland students were working. The students rotated in small groups of 5 each week between three assignments: hospital, community around Manali, and this remote village. I spent two days with the third group attending the annual Health Mela, during which doctors, social workers, and dental workers provide quality care to large numbers of children and their families who travel to attend. Our students helped write up the data, mapped tuberculosis cases in the villages, and took childrens' pulses. Below is a dental check up by the hospital's dental hygienist and then little girl with her toothpaste and toothbrush. I love the cross-cultural similarities--envisioning my kids in their carseats proudly clutching their new tubes and brushes after each dental visit.
A short hike from the Jibhi hospital guesthouse is an idyllic scene out of a Disney storybook with homemade bridges leading to a misty waterfall. On our walk, we saw a goat herder cross the river with his pack, but alas, one baby goat was left behind "baa"-ing to its mommy and daddy. The herder came back, scooped up the baby goat and the mama goat said, "baa, baa" (thank you). The goats went on their merry way, as blue butterflies circled our heads. Really, this happened.
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