INJURED UVI VOLUNTEER CARRIED 8 MILES TO SAFETY

Nias Field Team Report

UVI co-founder and field director Marshall Bailey has returned to the States after a five month stint with the teams on location in Indonesia. Bailey was the last to depart from the original team of four that first joined the relief efforts in early March. Unfortunately, Bailey’s departure was forced by a knee injury he received in a friendly soccer game with locals while on an overland assessment in West Nias. However, despite difficult circumstances that surrounded the injury and a pressing need for medical attention, Bailey and experienced ELM volunteers were able to effectively manage temporary treatment and transport.

In the weeks prior to his return to the states Bailey and ELM team members had been assessing sub-districts of West Nias. After a local villager from West Nias approached ELM staff describing present conditions in the area several volunteers agreed to form a team and travel overland to the areas on a walk through assessment to gather first hand information. The team arrived via ferry in Gunung Sitioli where they met with the Bupati’s (Mayor’s) staff before setting off over land to the West Coast of Nias. After meeting for several days with village and sub-district heads the team arrived on the Nias West Coast where they were warmly greeted by the children of a local village.

Bailey became a hit when he revealed a soccer ball and agreed to a game in the evening. After the team had conducted their assessments they joined the villagers in a game as promised and hospitality requires. It was not long after that an unsuspecting Bailey awkwardly collided with another while playing. Bailey recounts, “It was pouring rain, no one wears shoes their…no one has shoes for that matter. We were the first foreigners ever to have visited their village.” Unfortunately, the impact sustained was enough to injure Bailey’s knee and prevent him from walking without pain and assistance. Luckily, the team, equipped with emergency medical supplies, was able to cast, splint, and wrap his knee until he was seen by a local doctor.

After receiving local medical treatment and orthopedic consultation over the satellite phone with doctors stateside, Bailey decided to avoid further injury and with help from the team began arranging a medical evacuation from the remote village. The well seasoned team of volunteers knew that the logistics of transporting the injured 180 pound Bailey over 8 miles of footpaths to a road and then to Gunung Sitoli for air transport would be difficult but not impossible. After a few days of planning the volunteers departed with a group of 25 villagers carrying Bailey on a rigged bamboo and cotton stretcher wading through shallow rivers and across make-shift bridges to reach their destination.

Bailey recalls, “The people were the most beautiful and kind in nature that I had ever met. Four days they fed me food they didn’t have, gave me a bed, aid, and shelter when they had none. They took care of me when I should have been taking care of them. I will never forget the sight of the procession of several hundred villagers that followed as we took off down the path into the distance.

Their generosity breaks my heart. I will return there. I must.”

Taking shifts carrying the stretcher along the 8 mile trek the villagers safely and swiftly lead the team to the main road where a van was awaiting their arrival. A genuinely sad goodbye was exchanged after Bailey had paid the village porters who expected and demanded nothing of there time and energy. Bailey explains, “There are few times when such a situation permits you to empty your pockets to the deserving without indecision and yet if I had everything I owned right there to give, I would have done so and still not felt satisfied.” The villagers that had cared for and carried Bailey to safety did so without hesitation or anticipation of compensation.

Late in the evening after a long and bumpy van ride Bailey and the team arrived back at the United Nations base camp in Gunung Sitoli where arrangements were made for his departure off the island. Bailey was treated stateside for his fractured knee and is expected to recover within 1-2 months. The rest of the team remained behind in Nias to continue with assessments of the West coast which is now complete. Information pertaining to the assessments of West Nias will be posted shortly.

UVI would like to thank Marshall Bailey for his efforts and the ELM team that took care of him and got him home safely. Bailey has been truly indispensable to UVI’s volunteer work throughout the past 5 months and we commend him for his dedication, inspiration, and strong resolve.

ON LINE DOCUMENTARY OF RELIEF EFFORTS

UVI recently welcomed its newest volunteer, Zachary Shields, on location in Padang Sumatra. Shortly after his arrival Zach departed with a team for Gunung Sitoli, Nias to commence with filming and interviewing for an on-line documentary of relief efforts in and around UVI and ELM’s area of work. For the next month Zach will be shooting footage and gathering information while traveling throughout Aceh, Nias and other surrounding islands.

Zach is currently pursuing an independent study through the School of New Media at IUPUI in relation to the on-line documentary. In describing the project Zach explains, “The idea is to provide a multimedia window where viewers can utilize an interactive map with video interviews that will be displayed in a storybook format. Providing these stories with an interactive platform is a unique way of presenting the material because of its convenience for the user. Opposing the traditional method of producing a documentary in a linear fashion or on DVD, the documentary will provide easy access, a variety of focused content and easy to use navigation so the user is not forced to view information that will intrude upon their time schedules or interests.”

The on-line documentary will provide viewers with a first hand account of the ongoing struggle of forgotten survivors and methods volunteer organizations use in their efforts to provide life saving support to the victims. The documentary will also include pictures, written stories and audio clips will be used alongside video to enhance the experience and understanding of a disaster that prompted a global response.

7.0 QUAKE EAST OF NICOBARS

NOTE: Depth only 10km. No reports of damage of tsunamis to date.

2005/07/24 15:42 M 7.0 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION Z= 10km 7.93N 92.15E

This information is provided by the USGS
National Earthquake Information Center.

These parameters are preliminary and subject to revision.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake IN THE NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION has occurred at:
7.93N 92.15E Depth 10km Sun Jul 24 15:42:05 2005 UTC

Time: Universal Time (UTC) Sun Jul 24 15:42:05 2005
Time Near Epicenter Sun Jul 24 21:12:05 2005

NIAS FIELD TEAM RETURN - NEW TEAM DEPART FOR NIAS AND ACEH

Inge and Malkie have returned from the remote Nias west coast after completing the second stage of their assessment expedition. The team escorted Marshall Bailey back to Gunung Sitoli last week after he almost dislocated his right knee while playing soccer with a group of village children. "Marshall was lining up for the goals when a large local boy tackled him from behind and took his legs out from under him" said Darman, ELM's liason contact for the area. A team of villagers rigged a bamboo and cotton stretcher and carried the 82kg Marshall about 14km to the main road.

Elke and Malkie then returned to the west coast to finish the work.

A new team headed by UVI's Zachary Shields is on the way to Sibolga and will arrive in Gunung Sitoli tomorrow. Jenni Middleton and Patti Rock from Australia have joined Zack's mission to video the ELM story featuring interviews with village people who have received tents, food, medical support both in Nias and later in Aceh.

NEW QUAKE STUDY CONFIRMS HIGH RISK OF NEW MEGA QUAKES

2004 earthquake ripped through Asia at 13,000 km/h

Catherine Brahic
14 July 2005
Source: SciDev.Net

Last December's earthquake off the coast of Sumatra tore more than 1,000 kilometres of the Earth's crust, say scientists writing in Nature today (14 July).

Their findings show that observation stations up to 3,000 kilometres away from the earthquake's origin shifted as a result of it. Only stations more than 4,000 kilometres away, including ones in Uzbekistan and Australia, were unaffected. The rupture of the Earth's crust extended from the northern part of Sumatra to India's Andaman islands (see map).

The team also determined that the rupture travelled at more than 13,000 kilometres per hour initially, then at more than 7,000 kilometres per hour along a second segment. To characterise the earthquake, the team of Dutch, French, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai and US researchers used data from approximately 60 global positioning system sites in South-East Asia.

They compared the positions of these sites before and after the earthquake. Sites more than 3,000 kilometres away, in southern China for instance, had moved by up to 10 millimetres in the direction of the earthquake's origin. The closest sites, about 400 kilometres away, moved by several dozens of centimetres. The team found, for instance, that a site in Phuket, Thailand, shifted by 27 centimetres.

Having collected this data, the team set about finding out what sort of a rupture would have caused exactly these shifts. To do this, they created computer models and changed the length and type of rupture until the computer-generated shifts corresponded as closely as possible to the shifts they had measured using the global positioning system stations.

This suggested a 1,000 kilometre-long break.

The researchers say that the Earth's crust will continue to move for "a long period of time" as a result of December's earthquake. They note that by 50 days after the earthquake, the island of Phuket had shifted another seven centimetres on top of the initial post-earthquake shift.

The risk of further "large" earthquakes in this region in the near future is "very high", write the team, adding that monitoring structural changes in the Earth's surface for the years to come is crucial.

Read more about tsunamis in SciDev.Net's Tsunami update.

MONKEYS ATE OUR PHONE LINES

Image Simon Cowling - Epiq

In case you have been wondering about our lack of updates over the past few days.... the reason is typical of the kind of challenges we face daily in our unique part of the world. Our phone lines run up a heavily forested mountain side and over the past month one after another of our lines dropped out or crossed with our neighbours. The problem is that the monkey troop who share the mountain with us have developed a fetish for chewing insulation and they have eaten through to the core of our 10 line cable in so many places that it has had to be completely replaced! That is over 2km of heavy duty cable and most of the phone poles moved as well. Service is way better now but the monkeys are still here so we wonder for how long!

A Day with the Electric Lamb Mission

Just in from Lisa Friesen RN
April-May Nias Mission

I wake up to grey skies and pouring rain. Today is my last day with the Electric Lamb Mission. I have spent the last two weeks on the Batavia, serving as a medical provider with Northwest Medical Teams. With weather the way it is, a part of me hopes that we will stay on the ship today and wrap things up, but the other part of me wants to go out and see as many sick people as I can, since this will be my last opportunity.

At our breakfast briefing, Rick informs us that the weather is supposed to clear and that we will be heading to Hilinawalomazino today. We take the speedboats to the shore of Lahusa, Nias, board our van and head south about 14 kilometers. When we get to Bawolahusa, a small village where the trail begins, we are greeted by hundreds of children, eager to repeat everything that we say, and hold out hands as we start our trek to our clinic destination.Hilinawalomazino is about a 4 “Gomo” km hike, (In “Gomo”, the area of Nias that we recently visited, kilometers can be anywhere between 1-2 regular kilometers). The trail is narrow, and the scenery is spectacular.

We are about a kilometer from our destination, in the village of Hilizalootano, when we are directed to a house surrounded by many villagers. Inside the house we find three people lying on the floor, desperately needing medical attention. One old man is quite ill, probably suffering from an acute abdomen, perhaps a ruptured gall bladder. Another 18 year old is so weak, that he cannot walk. He has not eaten for a month, and is burning up with fever. Another man has a large open wound to his ankle, an injury from the recent earthquake. Our team members disperse and rapidly treat these patients. More people are brought in for medical attention, but because they are not acutely ill, they are instructed to bring their loved ones to the clinic that we will be holding, just a kilometer further up the hill. We cannot stay here because the people of Hilinawalomazino are expecting us.

Hilinawalomazino Village and the huge traditional "boat" house at the top of the hill
Note the village people are living in temporary shelters in the town square and most
buildings are braced with timber poles to stop them collapsing.
All the houses and public buildings have been damaged.

When we arrive at our destination, we are met by hundreds of curious onlookers. Our clinic will be held in front of an old Nias "boat" house. As a team consisting of Rick, 2 doctors, 2 nurses and 4 translators, we put together our snacks that we have brought- 2 bags of cookies and a bag of M&Ms-this will be our lunch today.

People are registered in a somewhat orderly fashion, and by 4:30PM, we have managed to see 93 people. Many of our patients here suffer from Malaria. I test 25 people with similar symptoms-fever and chills and achy joints. Twenty-three of them test positive of Falciparem malaria. The treatment is simple-a three day treatment of Artesenate. The only problem is, Malaria will likely recur, but hopefully, we can help these people feel better for awhile.

We are not able to see all the people that we had hoped-the sun is going down and we have to be off the trail before it is dark. People are triaged, so that at least the really sick will be able to get help before we leave. Here we have to work with Indonesian and Nias translators, because most of the people here do not speak Indonesian-this prolongs the process. As we pack up, the earth shakes-another tremor, something these people experience almost every day.

As we head back, we are met by many children and adults, grinning from ear to ear, lugging rice to their homes. Another NGO has delivered rice, and we are not able to convince them that it was not us.

We are all exhausted and hungry, as we head back to the Batavia. It has been a great day - a wonderful way to conclude my Electric Lamb experience.

UV - ELM TEAM DEPART FOR NIAS

Darman drives his wife to distraction with his generosity and determination to help those who are worse off than he is. Born in a remote village on the west coast of Nias, Darman was "adopted" by a Muslim family who owned a fishing boat after running away from home at the age of 10.

He grew up working on boat along the west coast, either fishing or collecting copra. 15 years ago he moved to Padang and married En, a beautiful and fiercely independent Nias girl. they now have 6 children and En works managing a textile workshop for Fremantle based artist Megan Kirwin-ward.

After the tsunami in December destroyed most of his home village Darman, headed out to the area on a SAI boat and acted as a guide for 2 weeks. He found his own family home destroyed and since then he has been trying to find ways to help his traditional home town. A week ago Darman visited our ELM office and described the conditions in west Nias. Marshall Bailey from UV, Inge and Malkie from ELM immediately volunteered to travel overland to the area to gather first hand information. The team departed by Pelni ferry from Padang yesterday and are in Gunung Sitoli meeting with the Bupati's staff. Tomorrow they set off over land to the west coast.

Before departing Marshall and the rest of the team purchased 30 boxes of school supplies and loaded them onto the Electric Lamb. The ELM volunteers aboard will distribute the books, pens and sports equipment to schools on the west coast of Siberut in the Mentawai Islands.

Thanks to all the University Volunteers who have continued to support our efforts with donations back in the US.

Check UV's website at: www.universityvolunteers.org

ELECTRIC LAMB DEPARTS FOR SIBERUT WEST COAST

Friday 8th July - Padang
12 ELM volunteers departed Muara harbour at 2100 bound for the remote west coast of Siberut. After meeting with Mentawai Government health officials on Saturday the team will set up base at E-Bay and then send a medical team up the west coast. The area has a similar orientation to Sirombu in Nias and the isolated communities have not been visited since well before the tsunami in December. (image by Epiq - Simon Cowling)

6.7 QUAKE AT MARCH 28 EPICENTRE

An hour ago the Banyak Islands were hit by a major quake with the same epicenter as the mega quake on March 28th. Gunung Sitoli was not damaged. We are waiting for news from Sinabang.

2005/07/05 01:52 M 6.7 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA Z= 30km 1.90N 97.10E

This information is provided by the USGS
National Earthquake Information Center.
These parameters are preliminary and subject to revision.

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake IN THE NIAS REGION, INDONESIA has occurred at:
1.90N 97.10E Depth 30km Tue Jul 5 01:52:04 2005 UTC

Time Near Epicenter Tue Jul 5 08:52:04 2005

ELM PARTNERS with VOLUNTEERMATCH

VolunteerMatch now list ELM - UV in their national database of opportunities and registered volunteers. All new volunteers who are interested in joining ship based or overland missions can register through an on-line page dedicated to our Aceh, Nias and Mentawai programs. The on-line database will reduce administration overhead and ensure that we can connect with volunteer skills that match our specific needs in the field. Both ELM and UV now have access to VM's nationwide volunteer register.

Registration will ensure that volunteer interest is treated promptly and available to all our team 24/7. If you have already spent time with us please click this link and register for regular updates specific to future program opportunities. Anyone interested in helping either in the field or from your home base should apply now.

ROTARY AQUA BOXES DISTRIBUTED

Ali and Inge have just returned to Padang after winding up the distribution of 1,300 Aqua boxes in Gomo....... photos to follow.