ADRA Continues to Serve in Nepal after Second Quake
From News Release, May 14, 2015: The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was helping Nepalese communities recover from April’s 7.8 earthquake when the country was hit by a 7.3 earthquake on May 12.
ADRA president Jonathan Duffy said in an email that the “new disaster has claimed close to 50 lives on top of the already 8,000 lives that were lost from the original earthquake. The destruction of homes has left tens of thousands sleeping outside with monsoon season fast approaching.” “Even as strong aftershocks rattle the country, our emergency response team has not stopped distributing vital shelter supplies and food to families in need,” he added.
Prior to the most recent earthquake, ADRA formed a partnership with GlobalMedic, a nonsectarian humanitarian aid organization, to provide large tents, which will provide a temporary replacement for health posts that have been damaged or destroyed.
“The people of 10 communities in Kavre District will have a better place to receive health services through ADRA working with GlobalMedic and Scheer Memorial Hospital,” explained Simon Lewis, former ADRA Nepal country director and emergency response team member.
ADRA and GlobalMedic delivered a 36-by-20-foot (10-by-6-meter) tent to Scheer Memorial Hospital, increasing capacity for patients at the hospital.
“This tent is going to allow us to hang onto patients that could go back but don’t have a home to go back to,” said Dale Mole, president of Scheer Memorial Hospital. “After the earthquake we had to have C-sections outdoors because patients were too afraid to enter. This tent gives us capacity we’ve never had before.”
For now, ADRA and GlobalMedic are distributing a total of 15 tents—10 in Kavre, including one at Scheer Memorial Hospital, and five in Dhading. “These tents are so multipurpose,” said David Sakaki, GlobalMedic volunteer. “They could be used for hospitals or for child-friendly spaces, or medical storage.”
A total of 240 health posts were destroyed in areas affected by the earthquake, and 347 health posts have suffered severe damage. Lewis explained that while these 15 tents will make a large difference in these communities, there remain significant unmet needs.
“For now, these communities in Dhading and Kavre will have somewhere safe, secure, and dry to meet their doctor, nurse or health worker in dignity,” said Lewis. “But we still need support from the global community to help us provide tents for healthcare.”
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Adventists Respond to Devastating Nepal Earthquake (April 28, 2015)
