Mathilde Dunas

I come from France where I work like a physiotherapist since two years. At the beginning, I want to be volunteer to do something different. I started by a painting project in a school.
 
After one month, the association proposed me the public health program because of my study.
 
Finally, I started the health program the 1^st of June.
 
During two weeks and half, I went in the different village of Jitpurphedi community, with Namita, the amazing local volunteer, to meet the women.
 
We told them about physiotherapy, back pain, knee pain, uterine prolapsed. We showed them different exercises to theirs problems, we gave them tips to avoid back or knee pain. In this country, the women work a lot at home, in fields, carry heavy things. These women have back pain very young.
 
Two times per week, I worked in the Tinpiple health post with the women who have particular problem.
 
In this project, I met more than 300 women and few men, in 17 villages.
 
The goal and this campaign was not to look after all of these women, but we just want to talk about physiotherapy. This profession isn’t known in Nepal. But it’s very important for the people who have articular pain, muscular pain, physical handicap, trauma, uterine prolapse.
 
I know these women don’t have the time or the money to see the physiotherapist. But, now, they know that physiotherapy exist, and if they have big physical problem they know that they can go in hospital to have physiotherapy.
 
This experience was amazing. I met to many women and all these women were amazing… They were curious, interested and so friendly. They look happy to follow this campaign. Often, they wanted to try exercises and it was so funny… And they asked me to many questions!
 
I learned lot of thing with these women and they always wanted to know about me my country, my family, It was an extraordinary exchange! I just regret we don’t speak the same language.
 
One day, a young girl said me thank you because with this program, we gave them some education and she was so thankful for that. In this community, and in lot of nepali community, the women aren’t educated, and it’s a big problem in Nepal. I realized that this program was useful.