Watch above: A Halifax-area dentist who was volunteering in Nepal when last week’s earthquake struck has returned home to Nova Scotia, but the devastated region is not far from her mind. Global’s Rebecca Lau reports.
LOWER SACKVILLE, N.S. – A Halifax-area dentist who was volunteering in Nepal when last week’s earthquake struck has returned home to Nova Scotia, but the devastated region is not far from her mind.
Furlong volunteers a couple times each year with Global Dental Relief, a group that provides free dental care to impoverished children.
She and fellow volunteers had just finished sightseeing and were travelling in a van on April 25 when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck.
“It was totally roller coaster-like with some twisting involved and it just sort of went on and on,” she said.
“About 30 seconds later maybe, we look to our left and just down one of the side streets in the distance probably a quarter of a kilometre away, we just saw this huge puff of smoke as this building literally evaporated.”
Furlong initially stayed at a Buddhist monastery outside Kathmandu, then stayed at a school and orphanage for the final four days of her visit. She said she saw a range of damage and destruction, with the rural areas hardest hit.
“It’s pretty awful. There are some communities that have 2,500 people and there isn’t any housing available. It’s all collapsed,” she said.
She also noticed relief and aid was slow to trickle in.
“Our last day there was the first time I actually saw water being distributed. So it was sort of up to everybody to provide for everybody else.”
Furlong and other volunteers eventually decided to return home to Canada because they felt their skill set wasn’t in dire need and they didn’t want to put a drain on the region’s resources. She arrived back in Nova Scotia last Friday.
Now that she is home, Furlong is donating to aid groups and encouraging others to do the same.
“They’re going to need a lot of money long-term and short-term. Hopefully what they re-build will be something that withstands future earthquakes.”
READ MORE: Long road lies ahead in rebuilding Nepal after earthquake: Canadian officials
Furlong had previously travelled to Nepal with Global Dental Relief in 2011 and it’s a region she holds dear to her heart. She plans to return and volunteer again.
“They are such an amazing group of people who are so resilient and so willing to help everybody that they really do deserve our help.”
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