Mark Nuotio, teaching in Nepal, talks of devastation of earthquakes
A man from Newfoundland and Labrador teaching in Nepal says he's worried about the effects the two recent earthquakes will have on the children he works with.
Mark Nuotio teaches second grade at Lincoln International School in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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He was on lunch duty and taking the children to the school's cafeteria when Tuesday's 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the area. The death toll has climbed to 80, with thousands injured.
According to Nuotio, the experience was frightening — especially since he was responsible for a group of young children.
"As soon as we got into the cafeteria we heard people shout out, 'earthquake, earthquake,'" he said.
Nuotio said he and the students ran back out of the cafeteria, onto the school's field to wait for the tremors to subside, but it was a worrying experience.
"In the distance I was watching a punching bag up on our gym roof just swinging back and forth and I remember one kid kind of saying, 'Oh teacher the earth is moving,'" said Nuotio.
"You have to be really composed and it's not something we train for, but I'm glad it kind of came natural. I just said to the kid, 'Yeah, the earth is just doing a big dance right now, that's all. Let's join along.'"
'Sleeping in a tent again'
On April 25, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the Kathmandu area and the death toll has risen to above 8,000, with thousands more injured.
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Nuotio, who also works with a local orphanage, said the devastation of the first earthquake was still being felt by the children he works with, who were just getting used to being inside a building again.
"I look after an orphanage, or help support an orphanage, that has 17 children and they were sleeping in a tent for five or six days and then they get up the nerve to go back inside and three or four days later, they're sleeping in a tent again tonight," he said.
"I really fear for the post-traumatic stress disorder, that it's going to be instilled in some children here."
However, Nuotio said people in the area have been working to help one another and he's received a lot of support and donations online through a GoFundMe page he started.
"I've distributed food to 30 homes, I've contacted an organization to get 500 soccer uniforms sent over to help kids that will go through post-traumatic stress disorder and I think in a time like this you really, you just have to find that little positive thing each day and people are helping people find that little positive thing," said Nuotio.