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Zachary Rowbottom, a second year Population Health major student was recently given the opportunity to travel to Nepal for a field trip. He shared his thoughts about the experience below.

“Students from UWA, along with two lecturers, Professor Jane Heyworth, and Dr Julie Saunders, travelled nearly 7500km to Nepal with the intention to assess the impact of an Open Defecation Free Program in Pokhara-Lekhnath, a beautiful city of the Kaski District.

However, what we received was much more. A valuable international health education from both Nepali students and leading professionals, real life exposure to issues regarding sanitation and hygiene in a developing country, and lifelong friendships.

From the onset of the journey, it was apparent this would be a life changing experience. Nepal holds landscapes like nothing we’d seen before. Imagine real life Jurassic Park. However, looking past this beauty lay a troublesome landscape for living and health practices.

It quickly became obvious that the small things taken for granted in Perth were not as easily performed in Nepal. Many people in rural Nepal are devoid of access to safe and adequate drinking water; how do you get clean, sufficient water to a village at the top of a hill, with no road access? And if there was a road, it was too dangerous to travel on due to the monsoon season causing frequent landslides.

We had to eagerly wait two days before being able to begin our work in the field and find answers to our newly developed questions. The collaboration with LA Grandee students was vital to our study. With their help, UWA students could check questions for cultural appropriateness and ease of translation.

For me, working in a group with two LA Grandee students made the trip so special. It allowed for a truly multi-cultural experience and to develop strong relationships. The students were so knowledgeable about health issues in Nepal and speaking to them was incredibly enlightening and inspiring.

Another highlight of the trip was being able to interact with the people of the Pokhara-Lekhnath municipality. Although somewhat embarrassing topics, all participants were more than happy to be asked probing questions such as ‘Where do you and your family defecate?’ and did so with a smile.

I was surprised by the amount of knowledge the women had about diarrhoeal diseases, and their ability to quote that open defecation can lead to Cholera, E.coli and in general an unhealthy environment. There was a real sense of community, as participants not only wanted a safe and hygienic space for themselves but also for their family and neighbours.

It was also interesting to hear that even if people did not know the Kaski District had been declared Open Defecation Free, they still strongly believe the practice of Open Defecation to be outdated, not only for health reason but it was also embarrassing and caused shame, hence societal norms have altered.

Further, having the opportunity to speak with world leaders in water, sanitation and hygiene, such as Han Heijnen and Finnish representatives from RWSSP-WN, along with the extensive local knowledge from Nirmal Adhikari and Gajendra Pun of Kanchan Nepal, provided us with a health professional view on sanitation practice in Pokhara, as well as a glance at where our passion and knowledge could lead us.

There is a lot of research and work that still needs to be done in Nepal with regards to sanitation, hygiene, adequate access of clean drinking water to all, and attainment of Sustainable Development Goal Six – to ensure access to water and sanitation for all, but I am positive with the fresh young graduates of LA Grandee International College and the determined people of Nepal, great things are possible for the land locked Himalayan Country.”

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