Bay man’s Nepal aid mission
Paramedic and academic Nico Louw back from earthquake rescue
AFTER a week of dodging structurally unsound buildings, fishing people out of the rubble in quake-hit Nepal and helping in rural areas close to the earthquake’s epicentre, a Nelson Mandela Bay lecturer is glad to be back after his first international aid mission.
Nico Louw, 41, head of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s new emergency medical care department, returned to the city on Wednesday night.
He was part of a 20-strong search-and-rescue team in the group of 80 sent to the quake-hit Nepalese capital Kathmandu last Tuesday.
When a call came for rescue workers days after the quake struck, Louw said he did not hesitate, as rescuing people was in his blood.
“I’m a paramedic and respond to rescue needs. I saw from news bulletins that there was huge devastation.”
Louw has an extensive background in technical rescue and emergency medical care, in both training and operations.
He said he was touched by the vast amount of help reaching the country, with cargo planes flying into the capital city in droves, delivering aid to thousands of injured and displaced people.
“There was so much traffic at the airport that we [circled] for about 45 min- utes before [we could] land.
“There were always cargo planes coming in to help with the rescue missions.”
On their arrival, Louw said, the team made contact with the body coordinating the relief mission to find where their help was needed.
After realising that there was more than enough help from around the world in and around the city, Louw was involved in organising a team of 13 rescue workers to tackle rural areas close to the quake’s epicentre.
“We realised that there could be only two eventualities – dead, or alive and slightly injured.
“The damage in those areas was such that if you were caught in the rubble, you were dead,” he said.
“Our aim was to save those who were trapped, but instead we did more medical work as many people were quite badly hurt.
“Our assessment showed that the biggest need was for aid – medical, accommodation and building material – as people were already rehabilitating the area.
“The further away from Kathmandu we went, the worse the damage. In one area every second building had crumbled completely.”
Louw said what touched him the most about the rescue effort was how in the face of total destruction, the Nepalese took the devastation of the magnitude 8 quake in their stride.
“I expected a lot more trauma, emotion and depression, but I was inspired by how the Nepalese took it.
“People did not dwell on the fact that they had lost almost everything, but went to shelters and started rebuilding and getting their lives back on track.”
Louw said the experience would help with his lecturing as he felt it important to teach about something one knows and has experienced.