Field Trip to Zhemgang

Last week the program manager plus an audiologist from Thimphu hospital and me started a week long trip to do field work in one of the most remote districts in Bhutan, in Zhemgang. From Thimphu it took us about 8 hours by car just to get there - even though the actual distance on the road is just a bit over 250 kilometers!

We went to Zhemgang to finish a program which had started in 2022, visiting remote places and assess the children with disabilities and figure out what assistive devices could really help them. Most of them have no access to therapies of any kind and no assistive devices to help get through their daily life. Children with CP often just lie on their back the whole day as the parents have no knowledge of what would be important for them and have no means to get assistive devices. 

The places we went to in the district were even more remote and often we had to drive over an hour just to reach the next small village. As soon as you leave the main road there are only gravel paths. Therefore it took us 2 hours to cover 42 km to get to one village where we stayed for two nights. The first places we stayed at had a similar climate like Thimphu, but as soon as you went a bit higher up it got colder especially in the mornings and evenings. But for the second part we were just a bit more in the south and at a lower altitude so the climate immediately got more tropical. ​
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I loved the beautiful and wild nature and couldn't get enough of watching it slowly passing by in the car. The forests we passed were in most parts still untouched. Once we even saw some golden langurs. This is a rare opportunity as they are very endangered and very shy creatures.

Now I understand why so many parents come to Thimphu for therapy of their children even though they had to leave their families and familiar surroundings behind:  it's the only chance for their children to reach more of their potential.  In the next blogs I will tell you more about my experiences during the field work and about the situation of the children with disabilities there.