Another major earthquake. Can you imagine?
I’m happy to say that everyone we work with and support is ok. No injuries, no obvious further damage. What I hear from Moni, Kamal, and Pushpa is that they’re back to sleeping outside, terrified with each new movement of the earth. And there are lots of movements! I am sure we will learn more of the realities on the ground in the next few days.
Meantime, life goes on. Here are some of the people whose diligent work we are supporting.
Renu and her team from the Women’s Foundation of Nepal continue to visit remote villages with supplies and basic medical and hygienic help. But they have encountered challenges along the way. Last week they were heading to another village in the Sindhupalchowk District (an area you’ve probably heard of as having been hard hit on April 25), and they were stopped by roadblocks twice. People insisted that they were as desperately in need as the intended recipients, so the WFN team shared some of the supplies and arrived at the final village with less than expected, but more than nothing. Can you imagine the desperation of not having enough to feed your child, parents or self? Since then they have not encountered more roadblocks as they have distributed supplies to Karve, a village of 400 people where no house was left standing and two people died. They have also distributed aid to 60 families in Duwakot. They are tireless, and we are delighted to be able to support their efforts. http://www.womenepal.or
Moni’s brother and his friends have been collecting door to door in Kathmandu – clothing, blankets, some money for food. At this point they only asked us to provide 25 tents and transportation to take all food, medical supplies, blankets, tents and the team. They are also working in the Sundhupalchowk District, most recently in the 400 person village of Gurung Gaon. They set up at the local government school, distributed food and shelter materials and offered basic medical help. He wrote, “Even one grandmom from ward-02, asked all of the volunteers for lunch. She was literally thankful for what we have done for them and was really happy to provide us with free black tea. Every sip we took was filled with the blessings and love of the villagers.” Their plan was to head out again today, but I’m haven’t heard what yesterday’s earthquake has done to that plan.
Kamal has been working with a team, distributing food, clothing and tents to villagers in need. Two days ago they went to Dhading where many of the people who benefited walked two days down from the hills for whatever goods they might find. Kamal and friends were loading the truck for another trip when the 7.3 quake hit. The distress shouts through the emails: “everyday come earthquick which is make really siecologic problems for children and every one. “ He says that while they were sleeping outside after Tuesday’s 7.3, “others two time came at 2:23 and 3:25.” Tomorrow they will head up to another village with the truck we’ve rented, a couple of older kids from SBCH, some friends, and all the supplies they can muster. (The photos below show Kamal and others pausing in distribution and some of the rice heading home.)
Pushpa, with her 40+ prison children, has never moved back into their rented home. They continue to sleep in the greenhouse. She had engineers check out the damage, and they were working on repairs when Tuesday’s 7.3 quake hit. I haven’t heard an up to date assessment. She says that the little kids are not afraid – they are having fun camping out; she and the older children are very afraid, expecting “the big one” at any point.
In Kathmandu, I stay at the guesthouse of the Shechen Monastery when I’m not at the homes. They have a well respected medical and dental clinic that offers a mix of Tibetan and Western medicine. They treat Tibetans (and others) who come down from the mountains for the cold winter months; they don’t charge 95% of them. I am told that within the first week after the April 25 quake, 2000 people came for medical help. Since the initial quake, they have been focusing their relief efforts on small isolated villages. Their mobile medical teams are deployed to two locations daily. They are in the process of delivering relief and food aid to 580 households/families in isolated villages in the Kavre, Dhading, and Kathmandu districts. Glasswaters is very happy to have found a way to support their efforts directly, not leaking money along the way. www.karuna-shechen.org/news/
We can’t make this terror go away. Bit by bit, we can support those who are doing relatively small, heart-filled, effective work to help others. And we will continue to do so. I want to say a huge, heartfelt Thank You to all who have contributed. And, to all of you who keep the Nepali people in your hearts and minds, Thank You. They do appreciate it. Many emails end with “Pray for Us, Pray for Nepal.”
Namaste… And thank you for your support and caring.
Melanie
