Earthquakes - Northern Dhading and Other Areas, Nepal (I)
the adventure
"We need a masterplan!"
This invitation to help came from Lewis sometime in late 2015. It had been seven months since the two massive earthquakes in April and May devastated much of Nepal.
Throughout this period, Lewis and his mixed team of Singaporeans and Nepalese had worked tirelessly to muster relief resources to help the more than 25,000 Nepalese villagers affected by the quakes. Spreading from the numerous remote mountain villages in Northern Dhading to the scattered villages across Gorkha, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk and Ramechhap, there were some 30 villages in all. The people were mostly still living in flimsy makeshift shelters, in need of food and other material assistance. They had managed to survive the harsh monsoon in July-August, and were now facing the full brunt of the winter cold.
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Their plight was heart-breaking.
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Besides these 30 villages, there were another 50 communities who also needed other forms of humanitarian assistance. While not everyone in these communities had lost their homes, the earthquakes had also impacted them in very significant ways, by taking away loved ones, and severly training their local leadership capacities, resources and livelihoods.
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Overall, this rebuilding and capacity-building endeavour would require a huge effort, and many of the ordinarily simple things would be extremely difficult to execute. Northern Dhading, for example, was indescribably beautiful and ruggedly mountainous. On a clear day, one could see the majestic Ganesh Himal range in the distance. But, the terrain was also inaccessible to vehicles, so all movement across the mountains to the dispersed villages would have to be made on foot, and all materials would have to be carried on human or donkey backs.
Likewise, the scattering of so many other villages across so many districts would mean tremendous logistical and co-ordination challenges.
We completed the initial masterplanning in end-December 2015, and Project Taja Asa, or Fresh Hope, was born.
In Janurary 2016, we commenced our first series of ground recces in Northern Dahding. We hiked for hours up and down steep mountains just to reach one village. Many hours were then spent with the village leadership team, understanding their realities and challenges, and sharing ideas. Thereafter, we repeated the process for the next mountain village. And, the next....In this way, we slowly but resolutely managed to cover an initial 11 villages in this recce mission.
Although this gruelling adventure seriously tested our fitness and endurance, the villagers viewed our physical effort and personal engagement as tangible demonstrations of our sincere desire to understand them. Positive relationships and respect developed as a result.
As we press forward with Project Taja Asa over the next two years, may we help to not just rebuild infrastructure alone. Instead, may we help to rebuild the resilience, self-confidence and leadership capacities of these people.
And, may they recieve Fresh Hope for their future....
