"Make this hospital one big rock, so that it won't be swept away"
Kamala shares her story from the landslide at Anandaban Hospital
Kamala was an inpatient at Anandaban hospital, Nepal, and had been there for a month when the landslide struck. Because of the rainfall and localised flooding she had not been able to travel home and was staying at thefemale ward in the self-care unit which was affected by the flooding and landslide.
After finishing her evening prayer Kamala had dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, then went back to her room and sat with her Bible. She was alone in the female ward. The noise of the rainfall increased, added to by the huge noise of trees falling from all directions. Little did Kamala know but in the darkness the land above was giving way.
Through the side windows she could see branches and debris tumbling down the hillside, passing by. Around midnight the sound increased and continued until 8am. The sound came from all directions and Kamala being alone in the female ward had no idea where everybody was.Through the night she could see trees passing down the hillside as the landslide continued but then the mud and debris started to enter the building. At first it entered from the bathroom but the door was closed so Kamala felt safe, then the mud and floodwater started entering her room. ‘Where would I go?’ Kamala thought. The landslidewas coming from both sides and even if she could get out of the room there was a tall fence she couldn’t climb.
Kamala said to God “If you save me, I am in your hands. If I die, then I am also in your hands.” Her heart was filled with courage as she was alone in that room, praying and waiting for the landslide to stop. By the next morning the water had raised to the height of her bed. Kamala moved from bed to bed in the female ward, taking shelter ona bed in the far corner of the room. “Make this hospital one big rock, so that it won’t be swept away.”Although she cried out for help the initial rescue teams didn’t see or hear her, but eventually Kamala was found and saved. All of her and her belongings were covered in mud.
