For the people of Ladakh, medical care is often inadequate. There are hospitals in the capital Leh, but they are poorly equipped and frequently overburdened. In order to give a wider part of the population free access to medical care, we organise medical camps every year with international teams of doctors specialising in various fields.

The first successful medical camp, in the summer of 2012, we owe to a team of ten surgeons and anaesthetists from Interplast Germany. During the ten-day camp the plastic surgeons treated 95 patients of every age. People with severe injuries such as burns, or with malformations such as cleft lip, misalignments and badly healed old injuries, were not only helped: above all they were given new hope, new confidence and new courage to face life. For many patients the treatment made it possible to return to work, and with it to secure a living for their families and to take their place in village life again.

We are very grateful that Interplast Germany has promised to keep working with us in the coming years and to send doctors to Ladakh as the need arises. The next camp is already planned for July 2013, as many of the patients operated on in the summer of 2012 still need further treatment. Beyond that it is our aim to bring further specialists to our medical camps in Ladakh in the following years, for example in orthopaedics, internal medicine, ophthalmology, gynaecology and dentistry.

We would be very glad to hear of any contacts with doctors who are interested in working with us. Please get in touch with us, or tell the people you know about our project.

These annual medical camps naturally involve considerable cost. Apart from the cost of accommodating and providing for the teams of doctors, we would like to pay for the journey to Leh and the stay there for those patients from remote villages who are often without means. We are therefore grateful for every kind of financial support.

Carrying on the success of the Free Medical Care Camp

In June 2015 a Free Medical Care Camp was held with great success for the fourth year running in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. For two weeks ten German doctors worked at the Mahabodhi hospital and examined, treated and also operated on some 1600 patients, among them many children. The team was made up of doctors of general medicine, paediatrics and gynaecology as well as general and plastic surgery. Their commitment is truly remarkable, as they give up their holiday and pay their own travel costs. Only accommodation and meals on site are provided. A two-day holiday programme, as a small thank you, is meant to express how greatly their work is valued.

The patients who come to the camp often cannot afford treatment in an ordinary hospital, particularly where plastic surgery or gynaecology is needed. They trust these doctors, which is frequently not the case with Indian doctors. Women, too, are often too shy to go to the local doctors they know.