Help Mum care for Nepal's palliative patients

Anyone who knows Mum (Jenika), knows that she is a dedicated Palliative Care nurse who cares deeply for others. For context, Palliative Care is the essential treatment, care and support provided for people with an incurable illness.

From 1996 - 2007, Mum devoted eleven years of her life volunteering in Kathmandu, Nepal to support and care for people who were dying, making sure their last few months and days were as pain-free as possible. At that time Palliative Care was very new to Nepal, so Mum assisted in setting up a brand new hospice, mentoring local nurses, and setting up a community palliative care service and palliative care education programme.

In 2018, Mum again returned on a volunteer basis to deliver donated syringe drivers (portable devices that deliver injectable medication over 24 hours) and train the local Hospice Nepal staff in their use.

Fast forward to 2024, and Mum has again been asked to return on a voluntary basis, due to the sudden departure of a senior Nepali palliative care nurse. Mum is an obvious choice, because she understands the Nepali language and culture, knows palliative care like the back of her hand, and cares for the Nepali community deeply. This time the volunteer role is for nearly three months (until the permanent replacement arrives), during which Mum will be mentoring and training Nepali nurses and rural health care workers in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and some rural health posts.

Because she is Mum (see above for "dedicated" and "devoted" and "caring"), she has of course agreed to the voluntary role. This will have a hugely profound and sustainable impact on the Nepali communities requiring palliative care treatments, but will also have a significant financial impact on Mum and Dad. As a result, I have decided to set up a GoFundMe page for them, to help fund their contributions and efforts in this space.

I have set the goal at $7,350, as this will be the rough cost of the three month period. The breakdown is as follows:

International flights: $2,250

Vaccinations: $600

Rent: $1,350

Utilities: $50

Internal transport (land and air): $1,500

Food: $1,000

Visa: $600

This is a large number, but will otherwise be paid entirely out of Mum & Dad's pocket. Any contribution will therefore be greatly appreciated.

I started this description off with "anyone who knows Mum", and I will end it with "anyone who knows me". Anyone who knows me, knows that when I did my half marathon last year I hated it and said "never again". Unbelievably, I will now be running another half marathon as my measly contribution to raise this money for Mum and Dad, and Dan will be running the full marathon. If you aren't convinced by Mum and Dad's need for the funds, please at least be convinced by my need for motivation to run another half...!