Durban -
Dr Leon Moodley, an orthopaedic specialist, and his friend and colleague Dr Pregs Moodley, a vascular specialist, believe that those who have much, owe a debt to the less fortunate. When they heard the news of the massive quake that had hit Nepal on April 25, the men decided it was time to give back.
Without much deliberation on how they would juggle impossibly busy working lives, they contacted Dr Imtiaaz Sooliman of Gift of the Givers and volunteered to be part of his mercy mission to the stricken country.
In a matter of hours they had boarded a flight with the second wave of Gift of the Givers medical and relief supplies, and teams of search and rescue and medical personnel. The Sunday Tribune spoke to them on their return to Durban this week.
“The most precious commodity in our lives is time, so we knew that’s what we had to give to the people whose lives were shattered by the earthquake,” said Pregs.
“Making a financial donation is not a major sacrifice; we wanted to get our hands dirty and show solidarity with the people who had lost so much.
”We spent 24 hours in transit, flying Durban/Joburg/Singapore/Kathmandu, and when we got there we hit the ground running,” said Leon.
“I know Kathmandu well, because I spent six years working there as a medical intern. The extent of the quake damage was devastating. These are people who have so little as it is; and they had lost their homes and loved ones.
“The official death toll is around 9 000, with 20 000 or more injured, but I know there were far more fatalities. The census statistics in Nepal are very inadequate. Most people live in remote areas that are not accessible by road. It is likely that many bodies will never be found.”
The men had high praise for the organisational skills of Dr Sooliman and his team, and said they were able to get to work immediately, rather than endure long waits for authorisation, as some aid teams from other countries had to do.
“We headed straight to the school where we were to be based, and began seeing the injured immediately. The majority of injuries sustained in an earthquake are crush injuries. Either these are an immediate threat to life, or you are contending, as we were, with the walking wounded,” said Leon.
“Six days passed before we reached the quake zone, and many people had severely fractured limbs because a lot of them had leaped to safety from crumbling buildings as the quake struck.”
Pregs picked up the story: “The Nepalese government had banned aid workers from government hospitals, because they had enough staff there, so we worked from private facilities with equipment brought in by the Gift of the Givers team.
“We are both in awe of Sooliman and what he does. Ninety-five percent of the people affected by the quake are Hindu, but Gift of the Givers – a Muslim-led initiative – does not see denomination; only human beings. Leon and I gained so much more than we gave. By being able to be extra pairs of hands and lend compassionate support to the people we treated, we became a part of something much bigger than ourselves.”
The men cited two cases as being the ones that would stay with them longest.
“The first was an old woman who had a very badly shattered knee,” Leon said.
“She may never walk properly again, and that will make her life very hard, if not impossible, given her poverty and the fact that most people walk everywhere.
“The second was a young woman whose 3-month-old baby died in the earthquake. Her wrist was obviously fractured, but she would not allow us to treat her.
“She was unable to even speak, so deep was her grief. She had lost all will to live without her child.”
Pregs said the two men “will go to the next disaster zone where we can help. We don’t regard this as a one-off contribution”.
Leon urged the newspaper to convey the message that the need to help the Nepalese overcome the earthquake will not diminish in time, but grow ever more pressing.
“In a matter of weeks the monsoon season starts. Tens of thousands are without a roof over their heads now. They need ongoing support from the developed world to help them regain any measure of hope for the future.
“Please don’t forget them,” he said.
Sunday Tribune