Nepal earthquake: Sisters relief work helps children
The distribution of food continues as the urgent need becomes shelter. With donations the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth have purchased 500 tarps that can be used as temporary tents. These are distributed to small remote villages.
Sisters have also created “child friendly” spaces for children in the affected areas of Nepal, in Baniyatar, Kathmandu and Kavre Planchowk. Most of the children who come to these spaces are those whose homes are in rubble. Children are given opportunities to sing, dance, play, draw and study. Many SCN volunteers support this endeavor after they are given training.
Sisters follow up with girl revived from collapsed house
Meeting with her mother and uncle, Sisters learned that a young girl they had previously met, who was trapped for two hours after the earthquake, was previously living with her family in the hills of Tipling, Nepal, in the Dhading District. This is one of the most inaccessible areas in Nepal. From the foothills of Dading, people walk for two days to reach Tipling.
By the time her uncle and a few other men of the village managed to get her out, she appeared lifeless.
On 11:56 a.m., April 25, as Nepal shook violently in the massive earthquake, the little girl’s house collapsed on top of her. She became unconscious. Her mother was away in the village. By the time her uncle and a few other men of the village managed to get her out, she appeared lifeless. The kept her in the garden. When a Jesuit priest who lived next door to the family found her, he picked her up. Finding her body warm, he began to rub her feet, hands and stomach. Her uncle kept praying aloud. Her eyes opened.
In a short time they put the girl and her mother onto a helicopter that was airlifting the wounded to Kathamandu. Even though hospitals were overcrowded, the little girl received emergency care. A few days later she was released.
When the Sisters found her with her mother at one of the SCN relief distribution centers, her face and head were swollen and she was suffering from a high temperature. “It was heart breaking to see her traumatized face,” says Roselyn Karakattu, SCN.
The next day, SCNs Lisa Perekkatt and Marina Thazhathuveettil followed up her case at her relative’s house. On examination they found her limbs and back normal, but suspected the possibility of minor cerebral injury. She was taken for an MRI. To everyone’s relief, the MRI showed only minor injury to her scalp.
The Sisters follow up with her daily. They provide her with medicine and food, though it is difficult for her to eat. She still walks very little, but by the grace of God, she is now on her way to recovery.
It is through the overwhelming support of prayers and donations from the SCN Family and the worldwide Catholic community that the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Nepal are making such an incredible impact in the wake of the recent earthquake. Thank you for your prayers and support.
