Earthquakes - Melamchi, Nepal (III)
the adventure
"We shall always remember these kind people in blue!"
It was now November 2015. We were on our sixth and seventh relief missions in Nepal, and the nights up in the Melamchi hills were beginning to get very cold.
Still, camping in tents out in the small open field, next to an old elementary school high on top of a hill, was a wonderfully rugged and amazing experience for everyone in the team. After a hard day of service, we cherished the basic pleasure of having hot meals under a star-filled night sky, and keeping warm by a roaring campfire. Every morning, we appreciated the simple pleasures of drinking hot coffee from aluminium mugs, while watching the spectacular dawn break across the majestic mountain ranges.
Throughout the six months following the two major earthquakes, RRI mounted numerous relief missions to assist the people of Melamchi. From April to June, we supplied many tons of rice and daal, and we ran mobile medical clinics for the wounded and the unwell. From June to September, we continued with the medical aid. At the same time, we also provided tents, zinc sheets and zinc tunnel shelter kits, so that these communities would have good- and timely-enough shelters before the monsoon rains arrived. In our latest missions, we provided the people with much-needed winter blankets and continued medical aid as the cold season approached.
However, I sensed that it was our consistent offer of friendship and solidarity, more than our material assistance, that probably proved most significant for these impoverished and marginalised low-caste communities. Avoided by other higher-caste communities and often discriminated against by the local government officials, they were used to being rejected and left to fend for themselves. The earthquakes simply aggravated their already-difficult situation and destroyed whatever little they possessed.
Their deep appreciation became more evident during our latest missions, as we camped alongside their villages, spent time with them and visited their spartan makeshift homes. Most could not quite comprehend why we, these teams of foreigners in blue shirts, would bother to navigate the challenging up-hill terrain, and bring them much-needed assistance. Not just once, but repeatedly over the past months.
We explained that we were simply here to help, to befriend and to stand with them in this difficult time. There was really no other agenda. Indeed, we experienced genuine gladness in seeing their lives slowly normalising, and being able to play a part in this process was perhaps reward enough for us....
