EVERY LIFE COUNTS
“We evacuate all those with serious injuries, earthquake related or not”
EVERY LIFE COUNTS
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“We evacuate all those with serious injuries, earthquake related or not” Photographs by Brian Sokol/Panos for MSF “I was lucky the doctors found me, I was in terrible pain, I thought I would die,” said 26-year-old Maila Gurung. “Most of the nearby health posts were destroyed, the only one I could go to was an hour’s walk, but it only offers basic services, and it was closed in the immediate aftermath of the second quake. And, besides, I couldn’t walk.” Maila Gurung’s village in Diol, Gorkha district is high up in the mountains, isolated from most basic amenities. In fact, Maila broke his leg when, together with others, he was carrying electric poles up the mountain in in an effort to convince the electricity company to supply them with electricity, as their lives would then be easier. But he was unlucky and an electric pole fell on him, fracturing his leg. Then the earthquake struck and prevented him from going to hospital. His family was worried, the village was devastated: Maila was not carrying the electric poles for his own good; he was doing it for the good of everyone, so that the community could have electricity. Therefore everyone wished him well. Lying in a bed at Arughat hospital, run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Maila listened to MSF nurse, Aloise Vimard, explaining what he should do when he got home. With the cast on, he could now walk, being careful not to put too much weight on the fractured leg. Maila will have the cast for five weeks during which time
Local people come to greet a helicopter landing near near the MSF "inflatable" hospital 21 May 2015 in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal. Due to the destruction by earthquake of the main health centre in Arughat, the MSF hospital is currently offering medical services to the surrounding communities.
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MSF teams, that conduct mobile clinics in the nearby villages, will follow up on his recovery, and eventually remove the cast. “I will take care of him, I will cook for him and work in the fields so that he can have a rest and heal,” said Maili Gurung, Maila’s wife. Their little daughter, Ranjana, innocently plays with her father’s phone beside the examination bed. They had accompanied Maila and stayed with him during his admission. They too were happy he was doing well and excited to get back home. When the helicopter touched down in Diol village, the community was waiting; excitedly clearing the ground for landing and directing the pilot. They were there to welcome back home one of their own. Dr Hani Khalifa, the MSF medical coordinator reminded Maila and his family what he needed to do during the five weeks he would have the cast on, “you must take care of your leg, ensure that the cast does not get wet, and you must eat and eat well.” Seeing how far and isolated this village was, one cannot help but wonder just how MSF teams reached there, and what would have happened to Maila had they not come. The teams were there to conduct assessments after the earthquake of 25 April. Diol is in Gorkha district, which was the epicentre the earthquake. “When we conduct assessments, we examine everybody, we treat those that can be treated on the spot, and evacuate those that with serious injuries, whether or not their injuries are related to the earthquake,” said Dr Khalifa. “We are here to save lives.”
Aerial view of Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Sita Neupane, 73, rests on a stretcher while being treated for Diarrhoea at the MSF "inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
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Maila Gurung, 26, from Diol village speaks on the phone while his daughter, Ranjana, 2, stands next to him at the MSF “inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar in Gorkha District, Nepal, where he had his broken leg set in a cast.
Local staff work at the MSF "inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Maila Gurung, 26, walks on crutches while Sita Neupane, 73, rests on a stretcher at the MSF "inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
A pregnant woman arrives to give birth at the MSF hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Local people wait for treatment at the MSF “inflatable” hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Maila Gurung, 26, prepares to return home to his village from the MSF "inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Maila Gurung's wife, Maili, 24 and their daughter, Ranjana, 2, wait for him in a car before being transported by helicopter back to their village from the MSF hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Maila Gurung and his family prepare to depart for their home village by helicopter after Maila had his broken leg set in a cast at the MSF hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
A helicopter arrives to transport patients home to their villages after receiving treatment at the MSF hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
The MSF "inflatable" hospital in Arughat Bazaar, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Between Diol village and Arughat Bazaar in Gorkha District, Nepal.
An aerial view of Maila’s village as the helicopter transporting him comes in to land.
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The MSF evacuation helicopter lands precariously near Diol village, Gorkha District, Nepal, as the team transport Maila Gurung home after his treatment at MSF’s hospital in Arughat Bazaar,
Maila Gurung, 26, is carried from the helicopter as he returns home to Diol village, Gorkha District, Nepal.
Urpa Tamang, lies in the MSF tented health facility in Chapchet, Nepal. Urpa had not eaten since the 25 April earthquake: She was weak and began vomitting several days before this photograph was taken.
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Urpa Tamang, 80, is evacuated, 21 May 2015, from the tented MSF health facility in Chapchet, to the district hospital in Dhading, Dhading District, Nepal.
Aerial view of the mountainous terrain of Gorkha District, Nepal.
Urpa Tamang’s husband, Ram Singh Tamang, sits by her side after she was evacuated from an MSF tented health facility in Chapchet to the district hospital in Dhading, Dhading District, Nepal.
Chuchepati camp where Nepali people displaced from their homes by the earthquakes are taking shelter in Kathmandu. MSF has supplied two 15,000 litre water bladders in the camp and dug latrines.