Pretoria schoolgirls safe after quake

26/04/2015. The group of St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Nepal. The picture was uploaded onto the school's Facebook page on April 24.

26/04/2015. The group of St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Nepal. The picture was uploaded onto the school's Facebook page on April 24.

Published Apr 27, 2015

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Pretoria - The headmaster of St Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in the city is pleased that he and the parents of the 18 pupils who are stranded in Nepal can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they are safe.

Father Angus Paterson said he was relieved that all 18 girls in Grade 9 to12 and two staff members were out of harm’s way when a devastating earthquake in the Asian country left over 2 200 people dead.

The group left on April 15 and are due back in South Africa on Thursday. They are a part of the World Challenge Team, an organisation that arranges educational expeditions across the globe.

Speaking to the Pretoria News at his home on Sunday, Paterson said he had spoken to all the parents and found all the girls were safe.

“Some parents are obviously distressed. It’s understandable. But all of them have faith that the girls will return safely,” said Paterson.

“The World Challenge Team is giving the parents updates every six hours. We only have communication via them because the girls were not allowed to have cellphones on them during the trip,” he said.

He said he was at a wedding when news of the earthquake broke on Saturday. The school and parents had been trying to make contact with the 18 girls but had failed.

“I heard one group was all right and had reached their destination, while another had not. The time between not knowing where the other group was was one of the most anxious moments of my life,” Paterson said.

“Normal communication has been disturbed in Nepal. We can’t get through to them and have to depend on the World Challenge Team. But the staff members have been provided with satellite phones and that allows them to communicate with the organisation.”

Roads to and from Kathmandu are inaccessible and airports have been closed off.

“We are waiting for an evacuation plan. But we heard The Gift of the Givers is planning an aid trip for the girls. It is going to be hard because we also heard flights in and out of Nepal have been diverted or put on hold,” Paterson said.

During the hiking trail, the girls were divided into two groups. One team was near Phokara when the earthquake struck. The other group had reached its destination and was about 40km from Kathmandu but had been moved to another facility to avoid the aftershock.

The school’s Facebook page has been constantly updated to keep parents and well-wishers abreast of the latest news.

An update posted by Joanna Read Jones claims that all the girls are safe.

“Latest from World Challenge this morning: Both teams have checked in and had a comfortable night with no aftershocks since on Sunday.

“The update we have is the main highway is closed due to damage and debris and the airport is only open to aid flights coming in.

“The Challengers are high spirited and fit, and have power and enough supplies to last them.”

In another update on Sunday: “Nepal Tour update. World Challenge have told me (and parents) that they have moved the one group who were hiking to a camp with all the necessary facilities. The others have been moved to a less built up place to avoid aftershock problems. I have been flooded with requests from the media for information and have tried to answer them all.

“I have tried to call all affected families, and they are all grateful that the girls are safe and in very capable hands. Plans for their return are not yet clear… they were due to return on Thursday. Fr P”

 

* on Sunday President Jacob Zuma conveyed condolences to Nepal after the deadly earthquake.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Nepal and neighbouring countries in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck the Kathmandu Valley.

“On behalf of the government and people of South Africa, I send my deepest condolences to the government of Nepal and to everyone affected, particularly families and friends of those killed and injured,” he said.

The South African High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was in contact with authorities in Nepal and on standby to help South Africans, the Presidency said.

Pretoria News

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