Elephantiasis and perception of Nepali life

Povery is never pretty. It rears its ugly face in the non-existence of trained medical staff or poor medical care. Lack of knowledge about how to catch a disease or how to prevent or treat it, ignorance and superstition as well as lack of funds contributes. Often of course it seems to be an unhealthy coctail of all above that contributes to the cause of poor health and this of course is not a situation unique to Nepal.

Leaving the abstraction of 'yes of course, poor people get sick more often' for a moment, today it was reported that 25 million people in 60 districts of Nepal are in danger of catching the parasitical infection Lymphatic Filariasis(most known as elephantiasis)a disease transmitted by mosquitos. Contamination generally means your limbs swelling looking like 'elephant legs', your inner organs being damaged by the parasite and you getting tumors. The government of Nepal is now planning to launch a national campaign to eradicate this disease that is said to be the second leading cause of permanent, long-term disability among infectious diseases. The goal is, in accordance with the WHO plan to eliminate the disease by 2020.

Yes, poverty is never pretty or pictoresque. Maybe with the exception of those locally produced postcard portraying misty hills and Himalayan mountain tops with happy looking hard-working(if slighly dirty) woman, hill tribes and sherpas that are found all over the tourist areas of Nepal. I have of course sent a few of them home over the years, not being immune to the beauty of this country but still.

I do find it hard to really grasp how physically hard life is for many Nepalis. Not only in the country side and in the hill, people living 4000 meters and above in the mountains. I still(and I realize this might be a sexist observation) find it especially hard to comprehend how all these young and old women that I see working on contruction sites and on road work, stone masons et cetera can do their jobs.

And now I am not only talking physically even though many jobs require a certain amount of physical strength, many of the women I see also bring their children to the work site. The children may or may not help out carrying rocks or whatever mom is doing but then there is also family life to take care of with all that that contains from catching cold water from the well for cooking and washing in the morning(usually a job for women and children big enough to carry canisters)to all other household shores that the men usually don't do.

Many of the Nepali men that I come across of course also works hard. The list over jobs that we just don't have in my country but exist over here is long. Take the profession that always brings a smile to my face for example. Partly out of emberassment, which is probably because I could never do it myself: the mobile big carpets sales men. These guys usually have a bunch of full size carpets slung over their shoulders, making acrobatic moves as they walk with their load of mats through a crouded street full of people. Then there are all the fruit, kitchen utensils, chia(tea), plastic cups whathaveyou sales men that carry their load of wares on their heads in a big oval basket to be put on the ground on demand to show their ware. The richawdrivers. And of course the manual laborers that carry 50 kilos+ attach by a strap on the forehead,be it what it may: a desk, boxes with food, live chicken, a door...