SIRAHA, Dec 11: Known for his crusade for reforms in the country's medical education, senior orthopedic surgeon Dr Govinda KC has conducted free health camps in poverty-stricken settlements in Siraha district. Dr KC who arrived here in Lahan on Sunday, provided free health check-up to the locals in two nearby settlements of poor and marginalized communities on Monday.
Nathuni Ram of Siraha's Sakhuwannakarkatti Rural Municipality had offered juice to Dr KC to break his 14th hunger strike. Dr KC now has reached Ram's village to offer his service. The settlement is home to underprivileged communities including Ram and Sadaya.
Dr KC also distributed warm blankets to the poor settlements on Monday morning and conducted a free health camp at the health post of Sothiyain in the evening. He was aided by Dr Raj Jha of Lahan-8, who is currently studying at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) on a scholarship.
Dr KC bonded well with the locals. He made a great effort to converse in Maithili despite not being well-versed in the local language.
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“He realized that the local people were having a difficulty speaking the Nepali language. So he took the trouble to himself by attempting to communicate with the locals in the local language,” said Jha, who also helped Dr KC by translating the Maithili language.
Dr KC spent the whole day in Dalit settlements Sothiyain and Nawarajpur in the southern part of the district. He interacted with the locals and made efforts to understand their plight.
Ramsufal Yadav, a local, said he couldn't believe when he saw Dr KC. “The man is full of compassion for the poor people of Madhes. He understands the plights and struggles of our people and wanted to help.”
Another local, Surya Narayan Chaudhary, 70, said he is too happy to meet Dr KC. “I finally met the man who put his own life on the line for accessible treatment for everyone,” he said. Like Chaudhary, many expressed that health workers and government officials should learn from Dr KC.
