Nepals Earthquake Aftermath, the pain behind the smiles.

Jude collecting information from a Tamang woman whose destroyed home occupied an isolated position 2000m up a mountainside. She had a clear view of the epicentre across the valley in Gorkha. Bringing relief supplies and building materials to these dwellings will not be easy. She had received a tarpaulin but no other help. We were her first visitors.

Many residents in these badly effected distant villages are elderly. Their children and
grandchildren having migrated in search of employment.

Our mission had been to assess earthquake damage in the badly affected villages of East Lamjung. We hoped our work would ease the flow of aid, as we scrambled down the final slopes, homeward bound. After these physical challenges we now had the more cerebral task of writing a report for the Chief District Officer who coordinates the districts disaster response. 

On the whole building materials can be reused after an earthquake. However, getting sand and cement to many properties
will be a logistical nightmare.

A 200 year old Hindu mandir crumbles under the huge forces.

In Kolki VDC a large communal tent serves as a home to eight families. Hand weeding maize is a sign that some are resuming normal farming activities. 

After sleeping in a half wrecked school,on the floor, we are offered daal bhaat before setting out on our second day of fact finding.

Resuming education will be another challenge. This secondary school in Dudh Pokhari VDC has had half of its classrooms reduced to rubble.  

Our five day hike visited rural districts, and their villages, within 2km of the quake epicentre, where we had witnessed a few families already engaged in rebuilding their shattered homes. For many the shock of losing dwellings. precious food and seed stores, is rendering them incapable of going beyond their normal daily routines. Families sit under trees, by roadsides and on piles of rubble waiting for help to arrive. Some relief has come in the form of tarpaulins to drape over damaged roofs and clad rough bamboo shelters where many sleep, afraid to return indoors.

Shelters are largely constructed from bamboo and tarpaulin. The dry weather allows mustard oil seed to be dried. When the monsoon rains come these temporary homes will afford little protectio against the flowing ground water.

A Gurung woman supports her tarpaulin roof with hose pipe.

Nepali Gurkhas have airlifted in rice, daal, oil and other essentials, from where willing hands carry heavy loads back to village distribution centers. As at festival times many young people have returned to their villages to help aged relations cope with the disaster but many cannot stay and already are making plans to go away.

Despite the recent trauma our days have been made easier by helpful locals who have assisted with translation, guided us along mountainous paths, provided clean water and above all a warm welcome. They could not hide their joy of seeing new faces and possible help, yet behind these broad smiles were deeper worries of how to rebuild their destroyed homes and cope with the fast arriving monsoon rains.

In Pachok VDC three traditionally dressed Ghale people have warm welcoming smiles, which hide their real fears for the future.

We spent another night in a school, shared with platoon of Gurkha soldiers. 

A young girl about to gather grasses for her livestock gives us the 'namaste'. Daily
tasks need to be done whatever the conditions.

A knowledgeable local shows the way between remote settlements.

Devendra showed us through his Ilam Pochari village, Thullo Karpre, which had escaped
the worst effects of the quake. Only a few hundred meters away another settlement was
entirely destroyed.

 

Despite the circumstances this Gurung village wants to give us their traditional welcome. By now we had been out for four days, and Jude shows the harrowing experience on her face.

‘How did these earth tremors happen?’ is a frequently asked question and the explanation takes me back to classroom plate tectonics and the accompanying realisation that this is not another academic exercise but a real description of the destructive forces of nature. As my eyes cast down to the stone steps that lie ahead on a path between two villages other far gentler natural forces display themselves. A pink flower has pushed its way through the arid soil between heavy stones and now sways gracefully in the clean air, its petals searching out life giving sunlight. 

Other natural forces at work. A flower bursts through the pathway that lies ahead,
demonstrating creation, not destruction

The earthquake has done its deadly work, and despite villager’s fears, is passing away. Some people have already moved to rebuild their homes, albeit in a temporary way, but others need to start the process. The greatest challenge that lies ahead is encouraging this move to rebuild by offering some support but also using the skills and labour of local people. 

Repair work begins. Yosing is proud of his temporary home. The round bamboo containers behind the young girl are used to
store maize and rice. Traditionally  this is done on the first floor of  a house, so loosing this floor means
loss of essential rice stocks.

Farmers the world over are famous for improvisation. Why not build a tomato tunnel over your ruined house.

Another temporary roof solution, but many properties now have little or no walls. These images are the exception. Most are
still to begin the reconstruction phase.

One of the very few houses to escape damage. this timber and tin construction teaches us a few lessons for the future.

As I sit and write the final lines of this post. Our VSO buildings and situation assessment report is complete and now in the hands of the Chief District Officer, who commissioned it. By a turn of good fortune whilst we took the CDO through our findings a group representing a major international donor was in the room. At their request we shared the report with them but my thoughts still drift back to those now homeless rural folk we had the privilege to meet on our journey. That quote which heads this blog comes to mind. 'I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that then I realised I was somebody'. Perhaps I should be the somebody that needs to start the reconstruction process. I feel another huge step outside my comfort zone coming up!