Catastrophe at Hospital - September 2008

---

Sunday 21st September…
…….. had been a hot, sticky, lackluster day and we had hid away in our room most of the day. At 6 pm we went out to find somewhere to eat with not a lot of success as our favorite watering holes were shut - as we wandered the noisy broken street of Kupang concentrating in the dark on spotting the broken pavements in order to avoid falling into a storm drain Colin took a whack on his head from a low tree branch. It knocked him to the ground dazing him and causing him a scalp wound.

After Rob’s experience with minor wounds last year in Thailand I decided to get him home (that is worrying I’m now calling this room Home!). I bathed his head stemmed the bleeding and as he was feeling rough, he went to bed early. I'd broken a tooth the day before and was feeling sorry for myself and so not much later I joined him under the net. We were non too pleased to be woken at 10 pm to a cacophony of shouting and banging of metal right outside our room - like dragging a metal bedstead around the courtyard.

Such disturbances are not unusual in Kupang at night, they are a noisy lot here and can get very excited about a broken down vehicle or moving a mobile eating trolley but this fracas had an air of panic about it. Tentatively I went outside to investigate and saw in the dark the faces of a group of men frantically attacking the huge metal gate beside our room, it is the back gate into the hospital complex. My first thought was that it was a riot but then behind the men I saw the glow of the hospital ablaze and realized the gate they were attacking was preventing the patients from getting out of the burning hospital.

As I watched the lock broke and patients, nurses, relatives and attendants streamed out of the hospital into our courtyard. By now the electricity had gone and folk were milling around with drips attached to them, newborn babies in incubators - people were confused and afraid but calm. We didn't know how to help, there was no use offering our room, as we didn’t know how fast the fire was approaching. Eventually patients were guided towards the military hospital the other side of the road from our courtyard where they were safe from the fire and could be attended to. Amazing how without any sophisticated emergency planning procedure but with a willingness to help things just work out. I guess these folk are still so used to disasters in their midst they just get on and sort things themselves.

By now Colin was awake and with torchlight we packed up our laptops, some cash, and credit cards and got ready to evacuate with the patients. The news of the fire soon spread as the flames could be seen at a long distance and so friends and colleagues were contacting us on our mobiles, which was both kind and reassuring. We found out through them that the fire had started (through electricity overload) in the pharmacy below the computer room and they were concerned we were in there as we often work art night when it is cooler. We went round the front of the hospital and watched the fire consume the computer room, along with the medical records office, registration, finance office and a bank.

Luckily the building (3 story) that housed the fire was self-contained and the flames did not jump to any patient wards. The fire engines and water trucks whilst ancient did their job well but even if the fire didn’t get the computers the water did. So all Colin’s work over the past 3 months to resurrect 15 old computers to working order has gone up in flames.


The following day in the aftermath - some of my students turned up for classes looking so forlorn -
This was to be the last week of their 5 week course - they have worked so hard for this training program and this week was to be the culmination. They were due to give PowerPoint presentations, which they were both dreading but anticipating - they had worked so hard. One student was working in the computer room on Sunday night when the fire started at 10 pm.

Since the fire we have been in discussions about whether we can continue, we may try to relocate this course and the others I was going to do to the local University. VSO have an office for Colin and I to work in for now whilst this project and the other needs of the hospital are worked out.

I feel sorry for the young Dutch guy who arrive in Bali on Monday for his placement training - he has given up his job in Holland to take on the IT managers role here in the hospital for two years as a volunteer worker with VSO. He takes over when we go - not sure what he will be managing now. Although at the moment they (the hospital director) say they want to go ahead with the IT projects.

So now we will be letting things sink in later we have to think about what to do next. So it may be an early return to the UK or we may just try and work this through. With all their manual records destroyed in the fire the impetus for a computerized system seems to increase I guess.


It seems so tragic that when they have so little and try so hard with what they have that this sort of thing should happen. However GTZ (German overseas development aid) who have funded the project may stomp up for more computers!!!

Seems like retirement is not going to be dull for us - although I think I could relish some dullness!!!

Over and out
From your roving drama junky in Kupang.

---

Photos

Press Interviews
Director of hospital is tall attarctive lady to teh right

Patients breaking out
Having broken the gate patients could get out the back of hospital. luckily the fire did not spread to the wards thank good ness as they woud have burned very quickly.

Burnt out
Fire started in pharmacy to left of main block

Guru
Before fire teaching in training room with translator - he doesn't do hand gestures.

No guru
Same shot after the fire

Watching TR ablaze
Watching his work of 3 months go up in flames

Students
Where will we go now????
My lovely students – nurses, doctors, midwives – I miss them already

Broken gate
returning trollies and patients to hospital