Medical Camping at Lyang Sa, Kalimpong

A big medical camping was organised and carried out on 1 May 2011 at Lyang Sa, Kalimpong.  The Lepchas from neighbouring villages, ‘Lyang Sa Kaa’ and ‘Da Yaon’ also joined in.  There were altogether 128 Lepchas, young and old, who came to seek medical treatment and advice from the doctors.  The following doctors from Kalimpong readily volunteered to do the medical camping:

1.  Dr. Gyalmit Lepcha
 2.  Dr.  Sharon Foning Lepcha
  3.  Dr.  N. Ghose
  4.  Dr.  P. Biswas
  5.  Dr.  P. Chhetri

The aim and objective was:

1.  To educate the Lepchas on their general health.  The two Lepcha lady doctors emphasised on the negative effect of drinking excessive ‘Chyee’, liqueur, on individual Lepcha, family and the community.  ‘Give up Chyee’ was their slogan and earnest appeal to the Lepchas.

2.  To encourage the Lepchas to see the Medic, Lyang Sa Lepcha Dispensary when needed and through the Lyang Sa Lepcha Village Association and Medic to seek proper medical advice and treatment from the Lepcha doctors in Kalimpong.  The Lepcha lady doctors gave their words to help them if they come to Kalimpong for medical treatment.

3.  To give free medical treatment and medicines by the doctors on the day.  Dr Sharon Foning Lepcha provided free medicines (three big cartoons) to the patients on the day.

4.  To help and advise the Lepcha Medic on simple and practical medical ‘system’.

It took four hours for five doctors to examine and treat the patients.  Dr. Sharon Foning Lepcha at the end of medical camping addressed the Lepchas and said that the general health of Lepcha people in the area was generally good except:

1.  High blood pressure among the senior citizens is most common because of ‘Chyee’.

2.  Pregnant women are not consulting or seeking the doctors’advice.  Lepcha women are still giving birth to their children by swinging on the ropes during labour and child birth, an old, ancient method which is not acceptable in the 21st Century!

The five doctors who have carried out many medical camps else where, it was learnt later that it was their first visit to a remote Lepcha village to conduct medical camping.  They were really overwhelmed by the reception and welcome they received from the Lepchas at Lyang Sa Village.  It was, in fact, their life time experience with the Lepchas.  The five doctors also thoroughly enjoyed the medical camping at Lyang Sa.

To conclude, the Lyang Sa Lepcha Village Association and the Medic now has direct access to the two Lepcha lady doctors in Kalimpong.  This will help them a lot in sorting out their emergency medical treatments and problems in the future.

The Medical Camping on 1 May 2011 was a grand success.
The Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association would like to thank the the following  for organising the first ever medical camping at a remote Lepcha villages in Kalimpong:

Ren Michael Way - for mooting the idea of medical camping and sponsoring it.

Ren Dawa Tshering Lepcha - for his superb administrative arrangement.






A Staff Reporter