By CASEY NEILL
A BERWICK family were “thrown around like rag dolls” during the Anzac Day earthquake in Nepal.
Rob Hastings, his wife Jo and son Simon are now safely home and drumming up support to help the shattered nation rebuild.
The Narre Warren Rotary Club and Katrina Sparkle Fund members three years ago raised money for a reading room in the Lamjung district, near Kathmandu.
“We decided it was time we went and visited,” Rob said.
“It was a four-hour car drive then we had to plod through these rice fields and up this very steep slope and through a forest.
“We were greeted by the kids and they were waving flags. It was a very emotional day.”
The 7.9-magnitude quake hit four days later while paramedic Simon was delivering a first aid course at a school.
“The room started to shake. We were on the third floor so there was nothing we could do,” Rob said.
“You were being thrown around like rag dolls.
“We’re just glad to be alive.
“Once we got out into the street it was mayhem, bricks and debris everywhere.”
They made their way to an open area to wait out the aftershocks.
“That was the worst part,” he said.
“It leaves you in a state of uncertainty. You don’t know what’s going to happen next.
“Walls were falling down all over the place. It was bedlam.”
They eventually made their way to the Australian embassy and helped to set up ‘Camp Anzac’.
“There was no electricity, there was no internet, there was no running water,” Rob said.
“The airport was closed, all the shops were closed, the streets were empty.
“It was a bit of a ghost town the first few days.”
Australia’s ambassador was able to get Rob and Jo on one of the first flights out.
“I’d had a bit of a heart problem the day before the earthquake,” Rob said.
“I was suffering from having excess fluid in my lungs.”
He said arriving home was a surreal experience.
“When you have a near-death experience you begin to understand how lucky we are,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly impoverished country.
“They’ve had the soul knocked out of them with all this devastation.
“The worst part is most of the schools are still closed and will stay closed for quite some time.
“One of the overwhelming memories of the trip was the passion for education that these people had.
“They’re so determined to get their kids educated so they can rise out of poverty.”
Simon stayed behind as a volunteer, arriving home on Tuesday.
“He was instrumental in setting up the tent city in the embassy grounds,” Rob said.
“He and another doctor from The Austin hospital worked together for over a week to make sure proper processes were in place to stop any infection.”
The Hastings are now encouraging donations to Endeavour Hills Rotary Club project Disaster Aid Australia.
“They’re going to be sending some people over to Nepal later this week, to try and alleviate problems on the ground,” Rob said.
“Direct contact can make a very significant difference.”
Visit www.disasteraidaustralia.org.au to donate.
