KATHMANDU, Nepal – One week after a deadly earthquake destroyed nearly everything around them, a Kansas City, Kansas family is talking about what they saw at ground zero in Nepal.
The Timberlake family went to Nepal about a month ago to help refugees—but after the magnitude 7.8 quake their mission has changed. The family of five helped rescue others trapped inside collapsed buildings, now they’re working to find clean water and power.
Drew and Lauren Timberlake are all smiles, amidst the chaos that now surrounds them. They’re staying in a building with their three kids Ezra, Louis and Oliver. Across the street, crumbled buildings and a courtyard with tents locals have turned into shelters.
“There were probably 75 people huddled together out there. We stayed there for at least 3 hours after the quake,” Lauren Timberlake told FOX 4 via Skype.
The Timberlakes say they were relaxing with their kids when the ground started to shake.
“That’s when the house next to us fell down. I started yelling at Lauren and Oliver to come out of the house because I realized the houses weren’t built to withstand an earthquake,” Drew Timberlake said.
They ran to the stairs.
“Ended up falling down the stairs to get to them,” Drew said.
The family all made it out safe, but others weren’t as lucky.
“Another neighbor spoke English and she said, hey they’re saying someone is trapped in a house,” said Drew. “I saw one guy run in a direction and I started following him.”
Video shows Drew taking video, as he helps rescue children out of crumbled buildings.
“We’ve just been shoulder to shoulder every day working through these intense situations. It’s been really difficult. But at the same time we’ve been growing really close together.”
Lauren has been working with children who were separated from their families during the earthquake.
“The kids and I have just been hanging out there and playing with the kids, just being there with them,” she says.
The Timberlakes do a lot of volunteer work here in the metro area helping people from other countries, so now local organizations they know are boarding planes to help them with relief work.
“There were a few organizations that knew I was here,” said Drew. “I was kind of eyes on the ground here.”
He says that, in a weird way, he feels like he was in Nepal during the quake for a reason.
“That’s been going through my mind a lot,” he said. “It makes it easier to be here. Feeling that I’m supposed to be here.”
Drew Timberlake has some suggestions on how you can help Nepal people in need. For more information, click here.