This article was meant to be a good news story, letting you know of the great night we had at Sue and Jerry Hurn’s home on April 17th. Sue and Jerry were the winners of the raffle prize “Nepali Dinner for Six,” from my January 18th fundraiser at The Gallery. It was a great night, lovely meal and interesting group of people, all with a love of Nepal. How things change in a matter of a week.
Saturday April 25th at 12 noon Nepal time, saw a massive 7.9 earthquake causing significant damage in the centre of Nepal including the Kathmandu Valley (pop.2.5 million). As I write this, deaths number 2,500 and rising, casualties number 6,100 and also rising. Much of the country is devastated with the already tenuous infrastructure severely affected and many homes and buildings have collapsed. The aftershocks continue and are strong making it difficult to return home. People are sleeping outside in makeshift tents. It’s raining and miserable. Roads are inadmissible. Potable water, food, electricity and medical supplies are scarce. Emergency aid is starting to arrive and hopefully life will improve for the people. The Nepalese are a resilient bunch, creative and have a huge sense of community. They are joining hands (the term they use to work together), rolling up their sleeves and improving their situation as best they can. I did not expect anything less.
As for Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC), they fared better than most. The earthquake-proof building did indeed survive the massive earthquake and there were no fatalities or casualties at the centre. A miracle really. And in no small thanks to Swiss construction standards. Despite no damage to the building, over 50 spinally injured patients, their families and SIRC staff all slept outside in tents on Saturday night as a precaution. They have now returned inside the building and SIRC is beginning their preparation to receive many of the casualties with spinal cord injuries in the coming days.
Many of you have asked how you can help SIRC in their provision of medical care to the Nepalese. As we go to press, that list of needs is being defined. Please check our blogs for updates, as well as postings on the Phorum as more is known. I am keen to ensure all donations made to SIRC are spent as intended. Your continued interest and support is very much appreciated by the Nepali people. Thank you.
www.bowen2bangladesh.wordpress.com
http://spinepal.orthopaedics.med.ubc.ca/
Also, Bowen Island Rotary will be setting up a Shelterbox tent outside of the Snug Café this Saturday to collect donations in support of temporary housing for the victims of the earthquake
