An Incredible Experience of Charitable Medical Work in the Himalayas – June 2026

By Dr Oliver Hodge

 

 

 

 

Where to begin with such a momentous trip? As I write now from this urban flat in London, with the mountains of the Nar-Phu region six weeks behind us, I cannot help but reflect that the experience with Med-y-Arte changed my life by subtle yet tangible degrees.

Meeting, working alongside, and caring for the people in this region of Nepal will go down as one of the most enriching, illuminating, and inspiring experiences of my short and searching medical career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw 300 people across six clinics in different rural municipalities over twelve days, working alongside a skilled Nepali doctor and local healthcare assistants whose knowledge of the communities was invaluable. Though I briefly found myself on the wrong side of acute mountain sickness, I believe the overarching goals of the trek were achieved: to share medical knowledge between Nepali and British healthcare teams while supporting the healthcare needs of remote villages.

 

The trip comes back to me in memories of the people we met: a beaming four-year-old boy running through our Nason clinic in a Spider-Man T-shirt, a kind octogenarian lady chuckling with her friends as she received her vaccination in Chame, and the chef of the wonderful Gompa monastery receiving his medications with such gratitude. I recall a kind pharmacist teaching me the Nepali words for certain medicines, the gentleman in his tweed blazer receiving his medical ID card, the students of the monastery borrowing my stethoscope to listen to each other’s lungs, and the people of Nar ceremoniously thanking us at the end of our 14-hour clinic day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between the treks, the spirometry, the H. pylori diagnoses, and the vaccines, what I’ll remember most are the human connections we made along the way. The opportunity to spend time with people in those numinous mountains was something I shall always be grateful for. I would like to extend enormous appreciation to the MedyArte Foundation, to Gosia and the whole team for a wonderful expedition.

–Ollie, June 2026