Once again the start of winter heralded the annual Shenpen dental / medical camp. This year we headed off to the hills two and a half hours beyond Pokhara. Beneath the snowy gaze of Machupuchhare and Anapurna One our team of 42 medical and dental practitioners and volunteer helpers treated 1500 people in three days.

 Three young monks from Mindrol Norbu Ling (Chapagaon) joined eight other monks and nuns to help in a variety of ways.

 Every camp needs a cook We have been lucky enough for four out of the last five dental camps to have top monk cook (known affectionately as ‘Bruce Lee’) running the kitchen. He is no longer available….what to do?!

 Lucky for us Nawang Gyatso was willing to step into the breach with his trusty helper Yeshe Tharchin. They provided three fabulous meals a day, and two rounds of tea and biscuits to keep everyone going.

 “I was a bit worried at first if everyone would like the food we had planned” said Gyatso. “Puchong and I thought about the menu and then did all the shopping before we went. I think some of the older monks wondered if two young monks could cook for 50 people a day, but its just like when we cook for the monks at our gompa and we proved we could do it in the end!”

 “Lots of people said very nice things about the cooking so I think they were happy. Two of the Nepali doctors were planning to tell their wives off for not cooking emadashi (a Tibetan curry) at home! At least there was enough for everyone – it is always a worry that someone will go hungry especially when they are working so hard. We started at 5.00 am every morning and finished cleaning the dishes by about 7pm. After work in the evening we would sit around the camp-fire with everyone else and talking, joking or singing. On the last night we had dancing too!”

 This was Yeshe Tharchins’ first camp. “We worked quite hard but we had two volunteers from Patan to help us each day as well. Sometimes we would be told to change the menu one way and then told to change it back again later by someone else…but we made sure everyone had what they wanted. It was really good fun and we made lots of new friends, especially around the camp-fire!”

 For Ratna Mangalam this was the third time he had been on camp as doctors interpreter:

 “Well, at every camp I have been lucky to have worked very closely with the doctors and dentists I have interpreted for. At first, my motivation in going to the camp was to help mother beings with love and kindness but that changed a little during the interpretation -  good hearted doctors and the other friendly volunteers meant I had a very enjoyable time as well!

 We were in a wonderful place just next to the mountains. It reminded me of my home in Sankhuwa Sava (near Solu Khumbu). On the last day we climbed to the top of the hill behind the camp and had an amazing view of the snow mountains. All us monks shared a room together – we had lots and lots of laughs together!

On the way home we had a chance to stay in Pokhara and go on the lake. It was really nice – I had never seen a lake that big before.

 I hope the patients who came to the camp were happy and got all the help they needed. One thing I like about the camp is that a every time we work as a family. Camp has helped me to understand the suffering of the samsara. Which is good chance to have renunciation, practice love and kindness, to improve English and Nepali languages and to understand the different cultures.”