Earthquake victims in Nepal need all the help they can get

By Peter Oyloe

A football match is a strange place to experience tragedy, but that is what happened on Saturday. A colleague and I were watching a local game in Kathmandu when the earth shook violently.

Before I realised what was happening, we were on the street gripping each other just to stay upright. Within moments, the wall of the football stadium collapsed and our fellow fans were streaming out, many of them covered in blood.
 
My first, frantic thoughts were with my wife and 15-month-old baby son. As we tended to the injured, I tried desperately to call them to check if they were okay. We were working to get the people around us to hospital, knowing that within the hour medical facilities would be overwhelmed. After 20 agonising minutes, I finally managed to reach my wife – they had survived, running from the bedroom where they were sleeping and sheltering in the garden.
 
But there were others who were not so lucky. We know now that thousands have died and it is heartbreaking to hear the death toll jump up each day that passes. I’ve seen huge queues outside hospitals, crowds desperate for treatment. And the chaos has been exacerbated by the many aftershocks that have rocked the city. At every aftershock, hospital patients in beds, many with drips in their arms have been rushed into the street. People are simply too scared to stay inside.

As I returned home on Saturday, the full scale of the damage wrought by the earthquake became clear. The beautiful old district of Kathmandu, packed with historic buildings and religious temples built cheek-by-jowl with hastily constructed homes, was reduced to rubble in places. The earthquake wiped out centuries of history, not to mention vital infrastructure in a poor country. Nepal will need all of our help to rebuild and recover.
 
Like tens of thousands of Nepalese, I’ve spent the last few nights sleeping outside with my family in the garden. Not just my family, but dozens of neighbours and colleagues who do not have an outdoor space or whose home is unsafe.

Even for people whose homes are still standing, no one feels safe to sleep inside yet. A major aftershock on Sunday damaged more buildings and frayed everyone’s nerves – particularly as heavy rain drenched everyone sleeping outside. Small aftershocks continue to shake the ground under us.
 
Despite the strain, everyone is pulling together to share precious resources, particularly clean water and shelter. These essentials are in short supply for the 2 million children thought to be affected by this crisis. Thousands of children and families are sleeping outside in flimsy tented accommodation. It’s cold and wet, clean drinking water is hard to come by and children are already starting to get sick.

But as well as looking after my own family, I’ve a massive job in trying to help others. Once all our staff had thankfully been accounted for, Save the Children’s Nepal team sprung into action to get lifesaving aid out to children and families in need across the country.

We’ve been working in most of the quake-affected areas of Nepal since 1976. Our network of local aid workers being joined by colleagues from Australia, UK and US, are already delivering tarpaulin sheets to protect families from the rain. We’ve also distributed baby kits with clothing, nappies and hygiene kits with things like soap and toothbrushes to homeless families. As people gather in informal tented camps, with no water or sanitation facilities set up yet, the risk of disease outbreaks is a real concern. The immediate priorities are food, clean water, medical care and shelter for people. With each day that passes they get more desperate.

I’m also worried about a second psychological medical emergency. Children have already been through a hugely traumatic event. Many have lost parents and loved ones and to be physically shaken by frequent aftershocks is terrifying for adults let alone young kids. Efforts to provide medical treatment and especially to treat trauma amongst children are paramount. Save the Children has decades of experience of helping children to recover from disasters and we’re here again to ensure children get the support they need.
 
Right now we’re doing everything we can to reach people in towns and villages cut off on remote mountain roads close to the quake’s epicentre. The situation in the capital is desperate but at least people have received aid – in those more remote areas, little help has reached people yet. There are reports of whole villages flattened, mudslides and bodies still buried in the rubble.

We hope the situation is not as bad as feared, but are prepared to help in whatever way is necessary. Several governments and donors have been generous in their support but, writing from Kathmandu, I can tell you that much more help is needed. 

The writer is the Nutrition Director for Save the Children in Nepal.
Earthquake victims in Nepal need all the help they can get
By Peter Oyloe
A football match is a strange place to experience tragedy, but that is what happened on Saturday. A colleague and I were watching a local game in Kathmandu when the earth shook violently.

Before I realised what was happening, we were on the street gripping each other just to stay upright. Within moments, the wall of the football stadium collapsed and our fellow fans were streaming out, many of them covered in blood.
 
My first, frantic thoughts were with my wife and 15-month-old baby son. As we tended to the injured, I tried desperately to call them to check if they were okay. We were working to get the people around us to hospital, knowing that within the hour medical facilities would be overwhelmed. After 20 agonising minutes, I finally managed to reach my wife – they had survived, running from the bedroom where they were sleeping and sheltering in the garden.
 
But there were others who were not so lucky. We know now that thousands have died and it is heartbreaking to hear the death toll jump up each day that passes. I’ve seen huge queues outside hospitals, crowds desperate for treatment. And the chaos has been exacerbated by the many aftershocks that have rocked the city. At every aftershock, hospital patients in beds, many with drips in their arms have been rushed into the street. People are simply too scared to stay inside.

As I returned home on Saturday, the full scale of the damage wrought by the earthquake became clear. The beautiful old district of Kathmandu, packed with historic buildings and religious temples built cheek-by-jowl with hastily constructed homes, was reduced to rubble in places. The earthquake wiped out centuries of history, not to mention vital infrastructure in a poor country. Nepal will need all of our help to rebuild and recover.
 
Like tens of thousands of Nepalese, I’ve spent the last few nights sleeping outside with my family in the garden. Not just my family, but dozens of neighbours and colleagues who do not have an outdoor space or whose home is unsafe.

Even for people whose homes are still standing, no one feels safe to sleep inside yet. A major aftershock on Sunday damaged more buildings and frayed everyone’s nerves – particularly as heavy rain drenched everyone sleeping outside. Small aftershocks continue to shake the ground under us.
 
Despite the strain, everyone is pulling together to share precious resources, particularly clean water and shelter. These essentials are in short supply for the 2 million children thought to be affected by this crisis. Thousands of children and families are sleeping outside in flimsy tented accommodation. It’s cold and wet, clean drinking water is hard to come by and children are already starting to get sick.

But as well as looking after my own family, I’ve a massive job in trying to help others. Once all our staff had thankfully been accounted for, Save the Children’s Nepal team sprung into action to get lifesaving aid out to children and families in need across the country.

We’ve been working in most of the quake-affected areas of Nepal since 1976. Our network of local aid workers being joined by colleagues from Australia, UK and US, are already delivering tarpaulin sheets to protect families from the rain. We’ve also distributed baby kits with clothing, nappies and hygiene kits with things like soap and toothbrushes to homeless families. As people gather in informal tented camps, with no water or sanitation facilities set up yet, the risk of disease outbreaks is a real concern. The immediate priorities are food, clean water, medical care and shelter for people. With each day that passes they get more desperate.

I’m also worried about a second psychological medical emergency. Children have already been through a hugely traumatic event. Many have lost parents and loved ones and to be physically shaken by frequent aftershocks is terrifying for adults let alone young kids. Efforts to provide medical treatment and especially to treat trauma amongst children are paramount. Save the Children has decades of experience of helping children to recover from disasters and we’re here again to ensure children get the support they need.
 
Right now we’re doing everything we can to reach people in towns and villages cut off on remote mountain roads close to the quake’s epicentre. The situation in the capital is desperate but at least people have received aid – in those more remote areas, little help has reached people yet. There are reports of whole villages flattened, mudslides and bodies still buried in the rubble.

We hope the situation is not as bad as feared, but are prepared to help in whatever way is necessary. Several governments and donors have been generous in their support but, writing from Kathmandu, I can tell you that much more help is needed. 

The writer is the Nutrition Director for Save the Children in Nepal.