After only two years from concept to completion, the INF Ear Centre at Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Pokhara was officially inaugurated and dedicated on Tuesday 3 November. The opening coincided with the running of INF’s 51st ear Outreach [formally ‘Camps’]. Laughter, music and congratulatory speeches filled the air as VIPs, delegates from partners and donors, volunteers, INF staff and friends gathered to celebrate this special day.
The Ear Centre successfully opened its doors to its first operative patient on Monday, repairing a young man’s ear drum and reshaping his hearing bones. Behind the scenes of the main celebrations on Tuesday was a young girl celebrating her new hearing aid, the joy on her face delighting all as she excitedly showed her new aids and made her first sounds. Like much of INFs work, this initial stage of hearing restoration is only the beginning; we will now journey alongside her as she visits the Centre for regular speech therapy – keep an ‘ear out’ for more of her story coming your way soon.
INF has a long history of working to provide ear care and treatment; INF has been running ear outreaches twice each year since 1992 in partnership with Ear Aid Nepal [UK] and Stiftyng Ohrchirurgie Nepal [SON, a Swiss organisation that supports ear surgery]. While the Ear Centre will replace much of the work previously done during outreaches they will still continue to be provided in remote locations, with the next outreach already planned for April 2016.
The opening celebration was a chance for all to express their joy and pride in the completion of this milestone achievement, as well as an opportunity to publicly thank those who have donated funds and worked tirelessly to make it all possible. It was also a celebration of thanks offered to God for the fulfilment of the INF vision to build both an ear hospital and training centre and it is our hope and prayer that the Ear Centre will continue to build on the INF legacy of providing high quality care to those most in need.
A special note of thanks went to SON who contributed a majority of the funds to complete the building and to those involved in supervising the construction, sourcing equipment and recruiting of staff to ensure a successful start.
Click here to view the photos of the opening.
PRAY | GIVE | GO | SHARE Pray for the ongoing services provided at the hospital following the outreach programme and that needed medical equipment which is currently held up by customs will be processed speedily. Donations to the Ear Centre can be made at www.inf.org/giving-inf