At the Umpiem Mai health center, there’s a space dedicated to folks who need some extra time to heal. Sometimes, throughout the day, these patients may need to go to the restroom, the doctor’s office for checkups, or just simply to walk around. But – many of them have nothing to help them walk.
As we visited the ARC team and the patients around the hospital, we saw a lot of people having a hard time getting around. “Sometimes, especially the elderly folks, they have no energy,” she said. “Sometimes they’re really weak, they can’t walk, they can only hold on to a shoulder as they go. They use bamboo sticks, but it’s not enough – they can fall down at any time.”
There are a lot of difficult things at a hospital like this primary health center – like diagnosing and treating tuberculosis and malaria. But getting up and down to go to the restroom shouldn’t be one of them. So that’s why, on Day 158, we decided to give these patients something to lean on. 
We purchased walkers and sturdy canes for the patients to walk with, helping them move around not only for practical purposes, but also to help them recover and heal. “They can practice walking and getting better doing these exercises while the nurse is here,” said Ajjima. 
“These are so important for the patient,” said Ajjima. “I’m really, really happy about this.”
