Day 2

The photos of what other people were up to - distributing food, building water filters.

At the start of the day, Nathan was considering how to set the clinic up on the mosque stairs again, when one of the aftershocks (I believe it was approx 6.7) caused the pillars to sway on the mosque...

Naive
I sway with the earth
Not understanding
The breath of death

Which was when we decided it was better to perhaps set up some tarps and have clinic under those. The day was a blur of people. Everyone with different stories and different problems. Here are a few exerpts from my diary from that day. Basically they are just reflections of everyone I met that day.

Child lies
Hollow eyes
Shallow breaths
Mother dead
What is sickness?
What is grief?
----
Elbow tumour
Too scared to go to hospital
Ran from there
Hospital gone
----
Trapped helpless
Two days
Calling for help
Endless wounds
----
Smiles large
How?
All is gone
Husband, child, home
Happy to survive
----
Headache
Can't eat
Can't sleep
Hard to breathe
Fear
Anxiety
Depression
----
1 from 5 000
Wounds proud badges
Of a lone survival
----
Parents bring children
Sick or not
Except for
A lone child
11
Seeks aid
Family gone
Except younger brother
-----------

That day we treated pneumonia, many skin conditions (scabies, fungal infections etc), wounds. The next day we also treated more of the same. We also talked to lots of people who had obvious signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Not a lot we could do with the language barrier for that, except advise them to try and talk about what they'd been through with family and friends. Luckily the group we were with (partners) were planning on setting up a house in the area for a year, and we were basically helping find out what the needs were, so hopefully they have been able to do more on this issue. I can't go into all the stories of the people from that day, but everyone I met was amazing in their own way.