Faith, Physio, and Wheelchairs: The Burtons in Nepal

Philip & Lesley Burton

9 hours ago

2 min read

Lesley and Philip are safely in Nepal and have officially kicked off Week 1 of their STEP journey with SDSS!

"Jaimasi! We arrived safely on Sunday morning and were greeted by our friends in SDSS, where we spent the day getting caught up on all their news.

Lesley’s update: This week I have been solely responsible for physiotherapy to 6 kids and 1 adult male. SDSS are providing all the patients with post operative rehabilitation and care.

Their conditions include cerebral palsy, severe burns, snake bite complications, leg lengthening surgeries, in addition the adult male received trauma care following his rescue from a tunnel at the hydroelectric power station involved in the flash floods/ avalanche on 26th August 2026.

Working alone is challenging with limited resources, no Nepali language, (although staff with some English can pop in to help me), and treating patients with medical conditions I’ve never encountered before.

I am loving it !

All patients are extremely grateful and call at the physio door twice a day for therapy; I feel this is a high point of their day.

Philip’s update: I have spent my first week learning and actively working in the Bikash Wheelchair Workshop inn SDSS, under the guidance of Joel (Accessibility In Charge).

I did go in feeling I was not up to the task but was quickly put at ease and was fully included in the days work by all three of the wheelchair engineers.

I have been fully dismantling wheelchairs daily which is a task that needs done frequently as donated wheelchairs are usually unrepairable, not because of their condition, but because spare parts are impossible to obtain as they can’t be bought. Spare parts are only obtained from these dismantled chairs. I will continue with my training in order to be a more useful resource as I head out to 5 wheelchair workshops in remote areas of Nepal.

Despite my workmates limited English and my complete lack of Nepali, we make ourselves understood and get the job done. (the 3 wheelchair engineers all live with disabilities; 2 are wheelchair users and 1 is deaf and mute). They are a very special, knowledgeable and inspirational team.

We do devotions, with SDSS staff, every day at 9.30am then our work begins, finishing around 4pm.

As always, the food hasn’t disappointed us and we are very healthy and well. We thank God daily for this opportunity to serve in this wonderful place”.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Love from Philip and Lesley Burton