June 16, 2015:
Dr. Bhupesh Vasisht and I traveled to Nepal this past week to assist in the reconstruction effort of that country. After traveling over 30 hours by plane, we landed in Kathmandu. Over that period of a week, we completed 31 surgical cases.
While we had hoped to do more cases, our effort was hampered by the inability to get patients out of the remote villages to the main city. Therefore we made a trip to the villages by car to assess the need in some of these remote locations. While not being able to perform surgery in those settings, we were able to get a first-hand account of The devastation of the earthquake and the needs of the people. To that end, below are some pictures from our trip.
The generous donations of so many people were put to good use in providing enough funding for those 31 surgical cases. In addition, a portion of the funds was used to provide clean water and electricity for a group of disabled children orphans who lost their house in the earthquake. Another organization has committed to helping rebuild their house.
We also provided some funding for another orphanage which is run by a Buddhist nun. That money will be used towards vaccinations for Malaria and their schooling.
On a positive note, one of the villages that we visited with 240 children was coping quite well. The children were all healthy and we were astonished by the resilience these children and adults have despite the natural disaster which had destroyed their homes. Both Dr. Vasisht and I have laid the groundwork to return in another year to do more surgery.
June 8 – 13, 2015:
As mentioned, we completed 31 surgical cases during our mission.
Click here to view pictures of some of our surgical cases.
NOTE: THE SURGICAL IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC AND MAY BE DISTURBING FOR SOME PEOPLE.
The following are some pictures and videos of the devastation caused by the Nepal Earthquakes:
“These disabled orphans had their house destroyed. They’re living out of a tent. We were able to buy them a water tank to provide clean water, as well as electricity. These are some images from the earthquake’s aftermath, including buildings that were destroyed and tents that have been set up. The last picture is of a building that was across from our hotel and is leaning on another building. We worked with this Buddhist nun to help orphanages in the villages and her own orphanage. We donated money for orphanages with disabled children to get electricity and water. The last picture shows a medical tent set up by Doctors without Borders. Two doctors belonging to that organization were killed in a helicopter crash!”
May 17, 2015:
Donations continue to come in, and we are very thankful for every single item!! We will have a 20 ft container to fill and ship to Nepal. We are in talks with a few shipping companies, just waiting for the best rate. We’ve collected clothes, blankets, winter clothes, dry foods, formulas, baby food, etc. The team is traveling with medical supplies but nothing else, as it’s not immediate relief. Once in Nepal we will again support stocking medical supplies and medicine thru Delhi. We’ll also help with getting temporary shelter up before the monsoon arrives. We’ll start the specialized reconstructive plastic surgery camp on June 5th. Please keep donating; there are many amazing NGOs on the ground that are doing amazing work.
As our team prepares to depart for Nepal, we remain grateful to all who are supporting us. As you can see, hard work is being done by some amazing people behind the scenes. They are who make this relief effort come to life.
Please visit our fundraising site and continue to support our team:
http://www.gofundme.com/asips