Day 4: Nepal Kathmandu Earthquake 2015 South African Rescue Mission

Day 4 on the ground in Kathmandu, Nepal.

On Saturday 25 th April 20 15 at 09h00 a massive and catastrophic earthquake measuring 7.8-7.9 magnitude hit Nepal, thousands dead, thousands more injured, thousands homeless in an already desperately poor country, that relies heavily on it surrounding beauty, rich ancient culture and mountains during the trekking seasons to bring in much needed revenue. On the 25th April that all changed.....and so began a world wide mission to assist....

Our mission: to go into the remote areas and villages in the mountains in the Sindhupalchowk region; find the injured and airlift them out back to our doctors working in Kathmandu. We were also to find a suitable area to set up a field hospital and heli pad. Some of our doctors were to follow once this was done. We were also tasked in finding out as much intel of what was actually happening on the ground in these remote areas.

We had our debriefing it was both exciting and terrifying knowing we were about to go into the epicentre. Lots of mixed feelings and thoughts!

The other teams went of in their yellow school bus on their mission

And then we were off.

We made our way along the main road out of Kathmandu passing many homes with tents out in the garden. Most of the residents were living in tents in fear of the continuous aftershocks they were experiencing.

we found many small plots where subsistancy farming was evident.

This was a theme park, Kathmandu water park. We could see some damage but from where we were it looked as though most of it had excaped any major damage due to the quake.

most of the time in Kathmandu a dust mask is a must and they come in call fashionalbe colours and fabrics, a whole industry all on its own!

As we made our way along the now narrow mountain side you could not help but be taken in by both the beauty of the mountains and the sheer poverty and simplicity of an ancient way of life of a desperate nation.

along the way we found many of these little "spaza" shops

I was so excited to see a Suzuki Jimny up in the mountains.

not sure who was in this mercedes but it appeared to be someone important who was addressing the locals.

Many of the homes are built right on the edge of the mountains leaving very little room for error and should land slides the outcome would most definitely not be a favourable one.

Many home made hot houses where crops were growing in very dusty areas. There is a lot of soil erosion along the sides of the mountains adding to the likely hood of devastating landslide which would wipe out entire villages in its wake.

many of these type of B&B's and roadside restaurants can be found along the way. They were surprisingly full and it was business as usual!

Several temples and sacred places which had been well maintained were also found along the way, however as we got deeper into the mountains they were less structured and we then found more colourful prayer flags.

The very narrow roads, this one was still passable other where sheer terror especially when so close to the edge of the mountain passes.

Families live in these mud and clay homes all along the route, Their livestock simply live in the houses with them. The one thing that really strikes you is how simply the Nepalese live, no fancy gadgets, appliances or furniture.

the many road side cafe type road houses.

The sun was starting to create shadows in the valleys and the temperature was starting to drop

the the distance the Himalaya Mountains!! Below is the mountain I was hoping to see, this one is on my bucket list. It was not clear in the photograph I took and I managed to find one on google

most of the buildings were still standing however we did find many like these as we started to drive closer to the epicentre and deeper into the mountains.

The trip was a dangerous one, lets not candy coat it, this we knew and in our everyday jobs we make many calculated risks, but the passion and desire to help others in need kept us focussed and steered us ahead.

These little ones where in hysterics as they discovered me inside a deep ditch taking a pee!!!

there was a little spaza shop and garage, so the boys bought sweets and handed them out to some very excited kiddies!!

many shops trading as usual

we found this rural hospital in the middle of nowhere!!

Much of the already perilous roads had either caved in or fallen victim to huge landslides. the roads and hills were strewn with debris and boulders. A 140 km drive from Kathmandu took us more than 6 hours to complete. We took a large colourful bus with all our tents, food and equipment. The sounds of local music blaring through the speakers and the constant honking of the hornes to herald our arrival at an impending blind and dangerous corner, which did not always quiet work out, so many cat and mouse events ensued.

The reality was that the damaged roads could not fit a bus never mind a 4x4 but our diver convinced us he could do it. These guys could teach our taxi drivers a thing or two, Our drivers are saints compared to these guys who rarely have an accident. So with wheels dangerously close to the edge and spelling certain death we sped on. Adrenaline flooding our veins and our lives flashing before us we sped up and down the mountain passes. I sat near the window and as someone who is not fond of heights I was thrown into a roller coaster experience that had my eyes permanently on stalks and luckily no audio was taken!!

We came across a huge landslide and assisted other rescue teams and villages to move earth and rocks. One huge boulder was removed by machine thankfully as it proved too big for human strength. Then the rescue teams told us that we were insane to carry on and that they were turning back as they were battling even with their smaller vehicles to access the roads.. Such is Gift of the Givers, the men and women in green's passion to help others, we continued regardless

this gives you an idea of who big the landslide was and how much of the road was engulfed

the many motorbikes waiting from both sides for the road to be cleared.

we needed to get going as we were loosing daylight and the storm was approaching

discussing plans and getting valid information from the Red Cross and other international aid workers

We were then on our way as storm clouds started to build up above us and would lash out with thunder and lightening a bit later as darkness enveloped us.

everyone in Nepal has a cell phone and access to wifi/internet!

many small holdings with huge crops could be seen along the way

these two photos I had to get from google as it was too dark and the sped at which our bus was travelling blurred the pictures. This is a very wide and dirty river surrounded by beautiful mountains.Crossing the Bhote Kosi River at Barabise, Nepal

The homes are built right up against the river banks and look rather perilous at best and it was not small wonder than many had collapsed and some even fell into the river itself.Chautara is the headquarter of sindhupalchowk district of Nepal.

Crossing the Bhote Kosi River at Barabise, Nepal

Soon it was dark and almost 21h00 and as we drove closer to the remote areas it was plain to see the devastation and how entire villages and family units had been wiped out. The stench of decaying bodies at times became almost unbearable a stark reminder that even in the dark death was near. All along the mountain slopes fires lit up the sky with embers and sparks
dancing in the dark as the surviving villages burnt the bodies of loved ones. With thunder and lightening crashing above us just to add to the drama, the rain then started to pour down making our journey that more dangerous, the scenes before us threw us into a "Mad Max" movie scene. Only this was real, this was the reality of the survivors of the biggest earthquake in some 34 years.

Suddenly out from the shadows in the dark a solider jumped out to stop us. We can go no further for now. The driver kept on wanting to put his disco lights of green and red and some weird blue on but it blinded us so we asked for them to be turned off, we wanted to see in the dark, to see what was going on.We were feeling very disorientated and vulnerable and needed to feel more in control of the situation we found ourselves in. We had stopped on a bridge with rushing water below us. Not the best place to stop, On our way back we discovered that most of the bridge had been damaged with bits missing. Thank heavens for the darkness, our old friend!!,

After some time and lots of deliberation and silent prayers we were on our way again deep into the mountains. We finally arrived at our destination, wide eyed and thankful to be alive. More negotiations and much red tape ensued until we could finally set up out tents.

Temperatures had dropped and we cooked our food on our camping stoves, once done we fell into our tents. It was deemed safer by the boys that Livern and I, the only two girls on the rescue team, would share a tent and the boys formed a laager of sorts around us, it was great to feel so protected!!

Our base came at Borderland Resort in Sindhupalchowk in the Eastern park of Nepal

We woke up violently at a little after 03h00 as our tents moved from side to side. The high pitched sounds of screeching monkeys, birds and frantic barking dogs all added to the panic. This was the worst aftershock we had experienced and we all held our breaths. We experienced a second aftershock. In the darkness with our head lamps we could see a small section of the damage around the campsite.

the fissure that we discovered near our tents. When daylight arrived we were able to see the extent of the damage and the fissure ran through the entire resort and camp site.

It was hard to sleep after that and each time a dog barked you became on edge expecting the worst.

This illustration with the area in red is Sindhupalchowk, east of Kathmandu and in the Eastern Regions of Nepal. We were only 10km from the Tibet border.

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MEANWHILE BACK IN KATHMANDU........

While we were on our epic adventure into the epicentre the boys back at Kathmandu were just as busy getting very dirty and spent the day digging and helping the local community around the Swayambhu and near the Kathmandu city surrounds

The guys exhausted but a job well done!!!

The 2 largest boys in the team fitting into the smallest car they could find much to the amusement of the locals who are not used to seeing such big and tall men. the Nepalese men are small in stature.

the rescue teams meeting up with our doctors on the streets and assisting in primary healthcare

the rescue teams back at our base camp

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Even the Journo's had to rest some times!!!

great view from a balcony overlooking some of Kathmandu

we were blessed to have a great bunch of Journo's that came with us and while we generally got to sleep around midnight and awoke at 5h00 the Journos worked into the wee hours of the morning meeting their deadlines.

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While the rescue teams were hard at work so were our doctors, rocking in the hospitals and make shift clinics in the area.

our awesome doccies doing their thing!! They performed 102 major orthopedic surgeries in 5 days!!

our dedicated maxi-facial surgeons and dentists working in the dark with headlamps and torches!!

the theatres our team worked in

even the journos were in theatre capturing all the trauma surgeries.

the female doctors making their home for the next week!

Adventure with a purpose!™

The Team Zodwa Project ™

Photo Credits: written in under the photos where possible/ Kim Williams Copyright/GOTG/SA Media/ Team1 & Team 2 RSA/Google/
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Warmest