Return trip to Nepal for me, but in different times. In April and again in May of this year, Nepal, a small and very poor mountain country of 27 million, suffered serious earthquakes and multiple aftershocks that has left their crumbling infrastructure tentative or in rubble, with mostly newer and more solid sturctures standing. Many villages have been wiped out, ancient stupas ruined, and subsequent rains have caused slides and rendered many areas inaccessible. Efforts with helicopters to aid locals have been difficult with some disasters of their own.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/11565120/Nepal-earthquake-Eerie-footage-shows-flock-of-birds-fleeing-crumbling-building.html
Being from California, earthquakes are not new to me, having experienced several in LA during my youth and some severe ones here in the earthquake country, Humboldt County. But the structures here are built under strict codes and we often just duck in a doorway or under a piece of sturdy furniture. In Nepal, they instinctively run outdoors because many buildings are at risk of collapse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjyWHfvLSIY
The monsoon season starts in June, and will bring problems of its own with so many without shelter and so much debris on the ground. Transportation for the ill, children trying to return to school, and clean-up efforts will all be impeded. Standing water and mud are problematic in many ways and can only be a deterrent to a return to normal life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRQGdp9ZUs
So why Resurge, why now? Resurge is not normally a medical relief group, providing instead for elective service to the poor in areas without access to the needed surgical skills and related medical care. It has been many years that Resurge has had a relationship with Dr. Shankar Rai and his new burn center in Kirtipur, near Kathmandu, providing education teams, funds, materials, and workers to assist him in his efforts to bring plastic surgery to Nepal and its poor. It makes sense that he turned to Resurge for help when the quakes hit and he found his new, small hospital innundated with Nepalis needing help with injuries, including many burns. There have been 1085 health care facilities damaged, 402 of these totally devastated.
Resurge was able to deploy a team almost as soon as Dr. Rai asked. I am in a following team hoping to help continue the services he is providing, teach some of the local anesthesiologists about care for some of the specialized surgeries that will be happening, and provide relief where we can for the many workers who are themselves stressed, worried, and fatigued. Having seen them all at work in the past - how hard and for so little pay - I do this with great pleasure and appreciation.
I am bringing my water purifier, a length of rope, poncho, matches, candles, tools, rain boots, and mosquito net - almost seems like a camping trip. But also will be medical equipment, scrubs, sterile gloves, and some drugs. This last week at home I am arranging for pet care (thank you Chuck, and mom + dad!), taking care of any debts and details, and hopefully leaving everything worry free until long after I get back. A long trip is quite a motivator!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/nepal/11565120/Nepal-earthquake-Eerie-footage-shows-flock-of-birds-fleeing-crumbling-building.html
Being from California, earthquakes are not new to me, having experienced several in LA during my youth and some severe ones here in the earthquake country, Humboldt County. But the structures here are built under strict codes and we often just duck in a doorway or under a piece of sturdy furniture. In Nepal, they instinctively run outdoors because many buildings are at risk of collapse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjyWHfvLSIY
The monsoon season starts in June, and will bring problems of its own with so many without shelter and so much debris on the ground. Transportation for the ill, children trying to return to school, and clean-up efforts will all be impeded. Standing water and mud are problematic in many ways and can only be a deterrent to a return to normal life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfRQGdp9ZUs
So why Resurge, why now? Resurge is not normally a medical relief group, providing instead for elective service to the poor in areas without access to the needed surgical skills and related medical care. It has been many years that Resurge has had a relationship with Dr. Shankar Rai and his new burn center in Kirtipur, near Kathmandu, providing education teams, funds, materials, and workers to assist him in his efforts to bring plastic surgery to Nepal and its poor. It makes sense that he turned to Resurge for help when the quakes hit and he found his new, small hospital innundated with Nepalis needing help with injuries, including many burns. There have been 1085 health care facilities damaged, 402 of these totally devastated.
Resurge was able to deploy a team almost as soon as Dr. Rai asked. I am in a following team hoping to help continue the services he is providing, teach some of the local anesthesiologists about care for some of the specialized surgeries that will be happening, and provide relief where we can for the many workers who are themselves stressed, worried, and fatigued. Having seen them all at work in the past - how hard and for so little pay - I do this with great pleasure and appreciation.
I am bringing my water purifier, a length of rope, poncho, matches, candles, tools, rain boots, and mosquito net - almost seems like a camping trip. But also will be medical equipment, scrubs, sterile gloves, and some drugs. This last week at home I am arranging for pet care (thank you Chuck, and mom + dad!), taking care of any debts and details, and hopefully leaving everything worry free until long after I get back. A long trip is quite a motivator!
