800 cases of water delivered to Trishuli

Relief: An additional 15 personnel have joined the 63-member Bhutanese medical team in Trishuli, Nepal.

The additional team left the country yesterday on a chartered flight.

Although the initial wave of patients requiring urgent treatment has subsided, the team welcomed the reinforcement. Today is the team’s ninth day in Nepal.

The reinforced team has, in coordination with the Nepalese government, begun identifying places in which their services are urgently required to set up extended camps which would treat the less severe patients and refer the more serious patients to the base camp at Trishuli.

On reports that the Nepal government has asked countries to close camps, Dr. Tobgyal Wangchhuk, the team leader, said that there has  not been any  communication from the government conveying this message.

The team has continued work and have been conducting extension camps at other locations where their services are required.

The team deployed two field units to the remote villages of Kaule and Shyamle on May 3. Both teams have returned after providing medical treatment.

“The team will continue to work as long as the services of the team is required for the victims of the earthquake as indicated by the authorities in Nepal to us.”

His Majesty the King granted an audience to the team that comprised of health experts, disaster management specialists and Desuups before they left.

As of yesterday, the medical team in Trishuli had treated 934 people. The team was deployed to Nepal on April 27, upon the command of His Majesty the King.

There are currently 27 patients receiving care in the wards set up by the team.

Medical supplies and 800 cases of water were also delivered to the team in Trishuli  yesterday. Of the 800 cases, 500 will be handed over to the government of Nepal.

Further resupplies will be provided when required by the team.

Based on information on the Facebook page of the Desuung, the medical team also distributed 250 children’s jackets, 150 fleece blankets and 600 t-shirts to locals on May 4.

Meanwhile, more than 5,500 cases of water have been collected through donations by the Bhutan4Nepal effort. The Bhutan4Nepal effort will continue to accept water donations throughout this week.

“We did this to help those affected by the earthquake because we know they are facing drinking water shortage over there,” said Yangchen, who along with two others, Karma and Ugyen Pemo, donated 700 cases of water.

More than a thousand cases were collected and provided by NGOs Clean Bhutan and Jurwa. Clean Bhutan’s Nedup Tshering said that given that the NGO had many volunteers, it decided to help people who only wanted to donate one or two cases of water, by collecting it from them and giving it to the Bhutan4Nepal effort collectively. He said that the two NGOs are still collecting water.

The private effort to raise funds, the Bhutan4Nepal – a citizen’s initiative, by the executive director for the Bhutan Media Foundation, Dawa Penjor had raised Nu 1.1M as of yesterday.

There are several other fundraising initiatives occurring in the country.

As of yesterday, the death toll in Nepal has increased to more than 7,500 people and of the injured to more than 14,500 as a result of the April 25 earthquake.

By Gyalsten K Dorji