wfn.org | Nairobi Bomb-blast Victims Aided by Adventist Volunteer Nurses

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

August 28, 1998
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

NAIROBI BOMB-BLAST VICTIMS AIDED BY VOLUNTEER NURSES
98/28/01

Nairobi, Kenya, (ANN/APD) In the aftermath of the terrorist
bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, a
volunteer nurse shares her experience of "the day after."

Writing on August 8, Debbie Herold, a Seventh-day Adventist
working as school nurse at Maxwell Adventist Academy near 
Nairobi, tells of volunteering together with others including her 
daughter Missy to aid the bomb victims in the 1,400-bed Kenyatta
National Hospital.

"I was on the ward where all patients had face and eye injuries,"
says Herold in a letter home. "Tragically there will be many more 
blind  Kenyans after this episode. I spent the day cleaning blood 
from heads, faces and even some feet. Glass had flown and 
embedded itself leaving a lot of damage. Sometimes I was 
dripping with blood from my gloves."

Herold had opportunity to discuss the terrorist attack with a 
number of the patients. "I had many people ask me if I was an 
American, and I said I was," reports Herold. "Everyone then would 
tell me how horrible this incident was. Missy had a conversation 
with one of the rescuers who had brought a survivor in and he 
said that at the bomb site he could still hear people calling for 
help. On my ward was a young mother whose two year old 
daughter was missing. No one knew where she was and of course 
as of that time, her family didn't even know where she was. 
Happily her daughter was also found to be in the hospital. One 
man that I was trying to clean up, I asked about his family, (he 
will undoubtedly be blind in both eyes now) and he told me that 
he has no family left. What a shame. I could go on and on, but I 
guess the point is, there is no sense to this mess. So many 
innocent people hurt, yet so many kind, willing people ready to 
help. The aid response has been really wonderful to see."

The terrorist bomb on August 7 killed 257 and wounded more than 
5,000. As of August 24, it is estimated that there are 40 people 
permanently blind in both eyes and approximately 50 blind in one 
eye.  The local Adventist Church donated Sh100,000 to the 
disaster fund which reached Sh64 million (over USD ($) 1 million) 
on August 12.