BNMT team visit UK partners

Members of the IMPACT TB team at the Birat Nepal Medical Trust in Kathmandu visited the UK as part of our capacity building and knowledge sharing programmes. Rajesh Parajuli, Soma Rai and Gyanendra Shrestha took part in leadership and safeguarding training workshops in London and Liverpool. They also met with key colleagues and partners to discuss ongoing and future collaborations. Soma Rai, BNMT Office Manager, has kindly given us a summary of the trip:
“I fall in love with Britain every day, with bridges, buses and blue sky“. I read this somewhere and I also wanted to fall in love with Britain, bridges, blue sky, the tube ride and all the iconic places of the United Kingdom. My dream came true! BNMT Nepal gave us; Gyanendra, Rajesh and Me the opportunity to attend the safeguarding training in Liverpool and Line Management training in London. Our journey started on 17th March 2023 and the destination were Liverpool, London and Bristol.
We had a meeting with Philipaa Tubb, the leader of Safeguarding at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the morning and the orientation on Safeguarding practice of LSTM in the afternoon. Before that Andrew showed us the LSTM building and we were amazed by their huge beautiful buildings and their contributions on research and clinical sectors. We also had an opportunity to meet Dr. Tom Wingfield at LSTM’s social room which was very cool. We briefed Philipaa about the safeguarding practices that BNMT was following and shared the challenges we experience during our work and exchanged different perspectives of safeguarding country wise. Although the orientation was of a day,we learnt more recent tips and good practices of safeguarding practices within LSTM networks those could be practiced in BNMT as well.
We fell in love with Liverpool as we explored the beautiful city every day. With its many insightful museums, inspiring architecture and culinary delights. There are so much to enjoy in that amazing city.
On 21st March, we took a train and headed to London; a city of dreams. It was exactly the same which we saw in the television since our childhood; the huge buildings, the hustle and bustle of the people, the double decker buses, the tubes which was so convenient and fastest way to reach the destination. The next day we met with our trustees Dr. Gillian Holdsworth and Jeff Mecaskey who were kind enough to be our guide for a day in London. We went to almost all the iconic places that London is known for like tower of bridge, London eye, Big Ben, Buckingham palace, the house of parliament etc. The River Thames cruise was the most exciting and amazing where we saw the most stunning scenery of London and took us through the heart of London and also the city’s most famous landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, London eye and much more. Therefore, we could not stop making TikToks!
The next two days we spent at Aspire Leadership in Leather Lane, London for our Line Management Training. The training was very useful. We got to learn what it takes to be a Line Manager, understand the line management role and responsibilities, recognise the qualities and strengths you have as a line manager, motivate and inspire others to deliver, recognise different styles within your team and how to manage them, deal with difficult people and situations and many more.
The training was definitely an eye opener for me as it made me realise that I have so much potential to become a better person and to help so many other people more than I already have been doing. It made me aware of some of the qualities that I already had but at the same time it showed me that there is still so much more out there that is waiting to be explored. The two-day line management training was really suitable for both new line managers wanting to find out what a line manager should be doing, and more experienced people managers who want to brush up on key skills.
Our final official destination was Bristol a City of Sanctuary. I heard Bristol also got the coveted title of Best City to live in Britain and it really is after I visit the place. We were heartily welcomed by our founder Rosemary Boere and her husband Wim at the bus station. Oh! What an honor for us. They drove us to their house at Olveston a small but beautiful village with so much greenery all over. My heart was overwhelmed with the beauty. The 3 nights we spent with them at their beautiful house was the most unforgettable moment of my entire UK trip. Their unconditional love, care, trust, happiness and generosity were priceless. It made me realise that I have so much to learn in life.
Overall the trip was absolutely amazing and exciting. Not only the country but we three also got an opportunity to know more about ourselves, our adaptability, our strengths and weaknesses during our travel. We would like thank Dr. Maxine Caws and the Senior Management Team for giving this opportunity to visit UK and enhance our knowledge and skills. We will definitely look forward to visit again because it’s a place where everyone can fit in.