7.8 Earthquake 25th April 2015 and
    the major aftershock 7.3 on 12th May 2015

    first batch of GEC Nepal Medical Relief Mission team
    a team of 7 doctors , 1 nurse , 1 reporter from Astro Awani ,
    1 reporter from Harian Metro
    lead by Mr Ravichandran ( Everest solo 2006 )

    the majestic Mount Everest before landing at
   Tribhuvan International Airport , Kathmandu

    we were given Multiple Entry Visa for rescue mission
    on arrival at Tribhuvan Airport




    Base Camp 1 in Chanaute , Sindhupalchok.
    camping style mission , we build shelter and prepare food on our own

    the smile that i will remember forever : click here



    crossing a landslide area









    a totally damaged village in a remote area up in the mountains

 






    my mission started with a simple text message to a friend
    Nazri " Moji " Arshad ,

    " i'm medical graduate from India , can speak hindi ,
       has experience trekking & camping in the Himalayan region ,
       and can take photos / videos . klu ada apa-apa mission ke
       Nepal bagitau la, aku boleh follow "

    Moji suggested me to Mr Ravi , putting me up in team.


    THE MISSION : 4TH - 11TH MAY 2015

    - Part I : preparations & departure ( click here )
                    - all the preparations at GEC office in Ampang ,
                      arranging the medicines and camping equipments ,
                      departure from KL to Kathmandu with 6 hours transit
                      at Dhaka , Bangladesh

    - Part II : Arrive in Kathmandu ( click here )
                      - seeing the majestic Mt Everest for the first time ,
                        collecting info regarding the earthquake from local 
                        people

    - Part III : Sindhulpalchok ( click here )
                      - 6 hours journey from Kathmandu to Sindhupalchok
                        region by 4WD along the mountain road ,
                        and seeing th extend of the damage done by the
                        earthquake along the way

    - Part IV : Mobile Clinic ( click here )
                      - our first mission , to serve the people in need
                        in remote mountain areas

    - Part V : the smile ( click here )
                     - the most emotional part of the mission

    - Part VI : from Chanaute to Kartige ( click here )
                      - move to a second base , where the extend of
                        the damage is bigger

    - Part VII : the longest yard ( click here )
                        - the most challenging part of our mission ,
                           trekking for 8 hours a day to reach remote
                           village high up in the mountains ,
                           crossing risky landslide zones

    - Part VIII : home again ( click here )
                         - yes we called Chanaute as our home.

    - Part IX : rockfall ( click here )
                       - leaving Chanaute , it was raining heavily
                         and our bus was hit by a rockfall while
                         on our way back to Kathmandu

    - Part X : last day ( click here )
                     - last day in Kathmandu , Nepal

    LINKS:
    - Mr Ravichandran's blog ( click here )
    - Astro Awani ( click here )
   - Harian Metro ( click here )


......................................................................................................................

   AFTERSHOCK

   we returned back to Malaysia on 11th May as planned in
   the original schedule , while Mr Ravi and some of the team members
   extended their stay till 13th May to serve the people of Nepal in need.
  we arrived in Kuala Lumpur early in the morning  on 12th May ,
  and were shocked to hear from the news
  that a second earthquake 7.4 Richter hit Nepal again
  in the afternoon.
  luckily all of our team members that were still in Nepal were safe.

Mariah from Astro Awani  reports the second eartquake : click here

    morning in Thamel , Nepal

    our mission was to serve remote places away from Kathmandu City ,
    where help is needed most.
    from information that we gathered from local people , we have chosen Sindhupalchok
    as our area of interest.
    Sindhupalchok is 5 hours drive from Kathmandu .


    we begin our mission early in the morning.
    our team of 11 people was split into two sub teams , with each teams covering
    different earthquake affected areas.
    team A consists of Dr Suku , Dr Lim and Mr Yusry.
    team A already departed to the designated area the day before.

    Team B : Dr Megat , Opie , Dr Amutha , Dr Lee , Mr Ravi , Ms Mariah , Dr Prabha
    and me with the acting ambassador of Malaysia in Nepal .



    Mr Ragu , our Nepali driver that can speak Malay language fluently.










    road damaged by the earthquake





    huge Shiva statue on top of a hill






    damaged houses that we saw during the journey to Sindhupalchok





    Landslide area along the journey

    UN recce team


    Dhal Bhat , a rice meal with vegetable masala for lunch.
  
    traditional kitchen
















    earthquake victims collecting food supply






    temporary shelter for the affected villagers










    the road passes through waterfall like this.
    even buses for the public has to cross waterfall like this to get through the road.















    beautiful cave with waterfall that we found along the way



    of all the photos that i took , this photo remains as one of my favourite.
    because i can't figure out why this man can still smile after all the destructions
    done by the earthquake.
    who knows what happened to his family ?
    house collapsed , children went missing ? wife injured ? parents dead ?
    these villagers already has nothing. no electricity , no phone lines.
    but now after the earthquake , even the ' nothing ' were taken away from them.
    they have beyond nothing now.
    but how come this man can still smile?





    finally we arrived at our destination after 5 hours ride from Kathmandu.
    our Base Camp 1 is located at a school in Chanaute Village in Sindhupalchok.




    the villagers greeted us with smile.
    within minutes , the place is flooded with villagers that came
    all the way from their villages in the mountains , with hopeful faces
    when then came to know that relief team has arrived at their village.






    unlike collapsed buildings around , this Hanuman temple remains erect ,
    and served as our Base Clinic

    setting up our clinic


    the villagers helping us to set up our clinic

    sorting out the medicines

    this girl with fractured foot.
    it was already day 10th after the earthquake when we arrived ,
    and she haven't received any medical attention to her fractured foot yet.

    we managed so set up and start our clinic within 2 hours of arrival.







    clinic went till late in the evening , when we realized we didn't even set up shelter
    for ourselves yet.
    we managed to treat approximately 200 patients within 3-4 hours.
    after finishing clinic , we quickly  put up our tents and cook ourselves
    some instant noodles.

    Goal Zero Sherpa power supply with external solar panel .
    this remains our only source of power because there was no electricity in the village.


   

    our camp is located in the middle of a field , a good distance away from cliffs and
    hills to minimize danger in case if another earthquake occurs.


    bright sky at night due to full moon phase

    a little rest , before our next clinic early next morning.
   

    Day 2 in Nepal
    GEC Nepal Medical Relief Mission
    Team 1
    4th to 11th May 2015