Heavens fooled MIW, just pulled the team back now must go again? Just reached SG!
http://m.todayonline.com/singapore/ng-welcomes-relief-team-home-nepal
Ng welcomes relief team home from Nepal
Dr Ng Eng Hen (second from right) receiving SAF personnel at Paya Lebar Airbase yesterday. Photo: Jason Quah
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PUBLISHED: 4:16 AM, MAY 12, 2015
SINGAPORE — Welcoming home the Singapore contingent that helped in relief efforts in Nepal, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday thanked the family members of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen and doctors and nurses from the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Despite knowing the risks their family members had to bear going to the quake-hit country — there were aftershocks, some of which had magnitude greater than 5 — these parents, spouses and children were more concerned about helping those affected by the disaster, he noted.
“Thank you to the many family members who knew that your loved ones were doing something that was very important, something that your children will remember,” said Dr Ng at Paya Lebar Air Base yesterday, where SAF and MOH personnel returned to after 12 days in Nepal.
Speaking to the media, Dr Ng said: “I asked the family members, ‘When your son, daughter, father, mother told you that they were going to an earthquake region, how did you feel?’. Many paused and said they were very happy that they were going to help somebody.
“I think they knew that there was some risk but on balance they felt that this was something they wanted their son, daughter, father, mother to do,” he added.
In all, the medical personnel Singapore sent treated more than 3,000 patients for earthquake and disaster-related injuries and illnesses, as well as common ailments.
Military Expert (ME) 4 Tan Puay Meng, an SAF medic, recounted that he was drinking coffee with his family when he was notified to be deployed within two to three hours.
“I was happy and honoured to be selected,” said the 38-year-old.
When they drove to remote areas in the mountains to reach villagers requiring medical aid, he said it was “tough” looking at the local communities who had no means to get to any healthcare facilities. “I can’t imagine without us, how they would be able to get down from the mountainous areas to seek help,” he added.
Another medic on the mission, ME 1 Shorini Dhurgha, said the hospitality of the Nepalese helped to ease what was an emotional first overseas mission for her.
The 24-year-old recalled an incident with a 12-year-old boy who had a 6-cm cut on his knee. “I was helping a doctor who was stitching him up when the youngster started leaning on me and wiping his tears on my shoulder. All I could do was put my hands around his shoulders and comfort him ... there was a silence which was quite emotional,” she said.
Mission Commander Colonel Lim Kwang Tang, 49, said the team initially faced challenges with “confusion on the ground”. The SAF medical team was first deployed to Sankhu but arrived to find three other medical teams already there. They moved to Gokarna, a village near the capital of Kathmandu.
Col Lim said: “(We learnt) that operations like this are definitely going to be chaotic, especially in the initial phase. There is a need for all to share information so that we can better optimise the resources that are available and to render assistance as fast as possible.”
The SAF was able to do this with OPERA, a system that collated and plotted the real-time GPS location of all search and rescue and medical teams from the 34 countries involved. This was shared with the Nepalese army, other militaries and non-governmental organisations there.
