Sister Purnamaya knows that every girl matters. As a specialist palliative care nurse working in Nepal, she knows that access to healthcare and education transform lives.

 

Every girl deserves the opportunity of education and the chance to pursue her own ambitions. But not every girl has that chance, particularly in the families for whom Sister Purnamaya provides care and support. In the absence of quality care, families do what they can to care for their loved ones. All too often that leaves a huge burden on young girls in particular. Families are forced to choose between healthcare for today and vital education for the next generation. 

 

Donations to this appeal were doubled by the UK government between 19th February 2021. This opportunity has now ended, but you can still help families in Nepal get the care they deserve. Together we have the chance to improve access to quality healthcare, lift the burden of care from young carers and restore the opportunity of an education. With their loved ones well cared for, 1,646 young carers can return to school and enjoy the hope education brings for them and their communities.

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Support frontline healthcare workers in Nepal

 

Sister Purnamaya works tirelessly to care for her patients. As a community palliative care nurse in Pokhara, Nepal, she supports her patients and their families through the most difficult of times. Through her practical care and presence, she is a lifeline to them when they need it most.

 

This huge task has been made even more difficult this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Sister Purnamaya remains committed to the care of her patients. She cannot always be there in person but she can and has adapted her care to continue being a source of comfort and hope to patients and their families. 

 

When there is no access to healthcare families do what they can to care for their loved ones. All too often this means that children, girls in particular, drop out of school and become full-time caregivers.

 

‘I’ve lost my dreams and my future.’ This is how 16-year-old Sunita describes her life after sickness and poverty have taken their toll on her family.

 

In a village near Pokhara, out of reach of the country’s limited health services, the family were doing all they could to care for one another. Her mother was living with a long-term disability when her father was diagnosed with incurable cancer.

 

Sunita’s family had tried hard to protect her education and her future, but now there was no choice and she had to give up her hopes of an education. 

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Building specialist palliative care in Nepal

 

The work of specialist nurses like Purnamaya means people with incurable illnesses have the specialist care they need. It also means their families have essential support that stops them from missing out on education and being pushed further into poverty.

 

Care like that given by Sister Purnamaya lifts the burden from the shoulders of young girls like Sunita. £32 provides care at or close to home, so that young girl carers can return to school and enjoy the opportunities of an education. 

 

Match funding from the UK government will help families in rural Nepal get the care they need at or close to home. These funds will support the training of healthcare workers, improved services and better access to essential medicines.   Your donations will support families like Sunita’s in Nepal and Malawi, providing healthcare to people facing sickness and poverty, showing that every life matters.

 

“What a privilege to be a part of this holistic care, to be Jesus’ hands and feet caring for palliative patients and families in our community and making a difference,” Purnamaya explains. 

 

You too can be part of this holistic care, training up more specialist healthcare workers. £418 trains a healthcare worker to ensure that everyone who needs it has access to quality palliative care. 

 

Improving health and girls' education in Nepal

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Care like that provided by Purnamaya has given Sunita hope again. With her parents receiving the specialist support they need, her dream of education and a future are not lost. She’s eager to sit her exams so that she can go on to college. Without the massive burden of caring for two family members, this is all possible. 

 

Sunita is not alone, 1,646 young carers in rural western Nepal are also kept from school and their childhood by caring responsibilities at home. With your support, specialist nurses like Sister Purnamaya can help more young carers like Sunita to return to school safe in the knowledge that their loved ones are receiving the care they need.

 

How donations will help?

 

• Your gift of £8.50 trains a family member or neighbour to give quality care at home. 

• Your gift of £32 provides professional care at or near home for a family fighting sickness and poverty. 

• Your gift of £116 helps a girl stay in school and get the education she deserves.

• Your gift of £418 trains a healthcare worker to ensure that everyone who needs it has access to quality palliative care. 

 

Between 20 November 2019 and 19 February 2021 donations were doubled thanks to match funding from the UK government. This helped your donations reach even further, caring for more families and showing even more girls that their lives matter.

 

*Names and some images are changed to protect identity.