Opening the unit

Here is another picture, stolen from the net, to give a better impression of Leh (this one is Shanti Stupa, the spot we walk up to in the morning for exercise). Downloading pictures from my camera has proven to be impossible, given the sketchy internet access and high probability of getting a bunch of viruses on my memory cards.

The project that the team was working on, opening the paediatric unit for disabled children at Sonam Norboo Memorial Hospital, has come the end with the grand ribbon cutting ceremony. The Minister of Health for Jammu Kashmir, as well as the Minister of Tourism were in attendance, as well as a great number of armed soldiers, given that this is Kasmir. The actual ceremony was pretty quick; unveil the plaque, have a look around, then a quick press conference. Still, the Minister did take a few minutes to thank the Canadian Team for their efforts.

The unit looks pretty great, compared to how it looked when we arrived. It is cleaned up, tidied, and painted. Quite a few kids have been through the unit already and many return for ongoing therapy with Dolma, Norboo, and Tsewang, now that the rest of the team has left. Other than Doug and I, the remaining team members flew out yesterday. Doug and I will continue to work this week, to complete the seating systems we were working on with the folks from REWA. The seats are looking awesome, if I do say so my self. Earlier this week, we had a cobbler sew up shoulder straps and on Friday, we will finish putting the whole thing together.

After that, it is off for some adventure, which I will report on later.....

Ross