Throughout the month of October Lha has been providing a new Health Education Class to students. One of the main focuses of the classes is teaching English vocabulary relevant to describing illness or health problems when visiting a doctor. Most of the Indian doctors do not speak Tibetan

but know English, making English the bridging language between the patient and doctor. But within the course of their English classes the Tibetans are not taught words to describe their physical problems. This is an important hurtle in them receiving proper medical care.

The class also works to explain western medicine to the Tibetans. Tibetan medicine was traditionally based on herbal treatments and western medicine can seem frightening and confusing. Nutrition information, paths of disease spread, basic anatomy, and common illnesses were all touched upon. The students showed great enthusiasm for the topic and some even plan to pursue careers in the health care field.

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