Preamble                

Khati is a small village, nestled at an altitude of 2200m in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas, to the Southeast of Nanda Devi. It is the last village on the trekking route to the Pindari glacier. The village is a 22 km arduous trek from the road head of Loharkhet. With no electricity, roads and transport services and very rudimentary communication, it is virtually cut off from the rest of the world. The village has 60 houses and 450 inhabitants, is situated at the confluence of two major river systems, and experiences wet summers (monsoons) and long cold winters (sub-zero).

 This visit to the village was a recce visit organized by Pankaj Wadhwa, a well wisher and a frequent visitor to the village. Pankaj is looking for solutions for basic health, education and livelihood issues of Khati.

 On the 9^th of April a general meeting was organized inviting all residents of Khati. The meeting was attended by people including youth, adults and the elderly and had good representation of both sexes ( 20 females and 35 males) . The village head (Gram Pradhan), Shri Dhani Ram, and other members of the village panchayat were present. The team from Aarohi included Dr Sushil Sharma, Dr Rohit Nair and Ms Anandi along with Pankaj Wadhwa.

Agenda for the meeting

1)      To gain an understanding of the current situation and problems in Khati pertaining to the fields of Health, Education and Livelihood.

2)      To prioritize this into urgent areas of need.

3)      To look at ways to solve these issues clearly defining the role of all involved parties.

4)      Plan for a better future with and for the people of Khati, with special focus on Health, Education and Livelihoods.

The Meeting and status report

Health

1)      Access to health care facility is difficult as the closest referral center is at Bageshwar which is 50 Km and the first 23 Km upto Song is a steep downhill trek.

2)      Limited First Aid facility provided by Bonnie and Scot who are part time resident volunteers in Khati. No local person has been adequately trained to provide First Aid.

3)      There is no trained person to deliver regular maternal care for pregnant mothers.

4)      Deliveries are generally home based and conducted by village ladies or untrained Dais.

5)      Maternal deaths and child/ infant deaths a constant threat. (Last maternal death occurred 3 years ago 3 child deaths in this last year)

6)      Immunisation services erratic.

7)      Absence of Govt health functionaries such as ANM, Pharmacist.

      ASHA and Anganwadi Worker are not adequately trained.

9)      Child health and growth monitoring virtually non existent.

10)  Evacuation and patient transportation services not formally present. However patients needing evacuation are carried on Chair Doli or on horse back accompanied by able bodied volunteers.

11)  No formal links present with referral centers such as Bageshwar and Dena Hospital.

12)  Huge expenses are borne by individuals who require specialist care.

13)  Local traditional healer provides good relief but is blamed for overcharging.

14)  Common health problems faced include Dental, Respiratory, GB stones, Kidney stones, Pregnancy related complaints and child diseases.

15)  Family planning includes use of temporary methods but non availability of condoms is an issue. Permanent methods such as vasectomy preferred over tubectomy.

Education

1)      The school does not open regularly as teachers are often absent.

2)      Though there are presently four teachers but as they are given other government duties, effectively only two may be present on working days.

3)      Teachers are expected to teach all subjects.

4)      Regular exams are not conducted for students and assessment of question papers is inadequate.

5)      There is no teacher for English.

Livelihood

1)      Most young boys are involved with tourism as guides, porters or running small restaraunts and hotels.

2)      During Yersa gabo (root) season, all most youth go to higher altitudes for collection.

3)      Bamboo (Ringal) work is being done by 2 people from the village but since there is no guaranteed market for the products their interest levels are low.

4)      The villagers need design and quality inputs for their Ringal work.

5)      Transportation of finished goods is expensive and cumbersome.

The villagers were asked to ponder over these issues and reassemble the next day with a consensus on the solutions discussed.

Medical Camp

This was then followed by a general medical camp. Patients included those with Gastric, Respiratory, genitourinary and nutritional problems. There was equal representation of adults and children, males and females. Of those screened, 13 patients needed further medical attention and were referred to Dena and the Aarohi cottage hospital.

The next day saw the team from Aarohi following up on the patients that were seen on the previous day and a few more for that day.

A total of 70 patients were seen during the camp.

Conclusion 

Khati shows good promise and has many a factors that are poised in its favour. If the people of Khati present a unified front and there arises a strong need for outside intervention then an organization like Aarohi would definitely be able to help. This village has the potential of becoming a “Model Village”, despite the difficult terrain, poor infrastructure and harsh weather conditions.  The spirit and courage shown by the people of Khati should help overcome these challenges.