Mule Doctors

Although I mainly work on the VIVA Nepal project, CLPSP, our partner NGO, AHTCS, runs four other projects which I assist whenever I can.

Over the last weekend I helped out with the Working Equine Welfare project, supported financially by the Brooke Hospital, UK. I travelled with Dr. Rupesh high into the Annapurna range to a place called Shikha, 2,000m. There we held a vaccination camp for the trains of mules that run through the mountains like blood through arteries, the chain of supply where there is little access for motor vehicles.

The equine owners are keen to improve the health status of their animals but until now the services have been unavailable.The project, the first of it's kind in Nepal and still in it's early stages, is showing encouraging results. Altogether we vaccinated 99 mules and 4 ponies against tetanus. It was set against the dramatic background of Mt. Dhaulaghiri, 8,167m, 7th highest in the world, and I must admit job satisfaction goes through the roof! I would have liked to have watched the Irish Grand Slam, but that was not an option.