People in Need distributes materials for provisional shelters to hundreds of Nepalese families in mountain villages
Published: May 21, 2015 Reading time: 5 minutes
Gorkha, May 21st, 2015 - People in Need (PIN) distributed tarpaulins and ropes to hundreds of families in the remote areas of Lho and Chekampar on the Nepalese-Tibetian border, close to the Manaslu, the 8th highest mountain in the world. The earthquake has completely destroyed 70% of houses in this area. These houses were simple, usually built up from clay, wood and stones. In the following days, the World Food Programme (WFP) and People in Need will distribute more tarpaulins, blankets and technical equipment to these areas.
In the worst devastated areas of Gorkha and Sinpalcuk about 5000 families have been provided with tarpaulins so far. In the following days, other 7000 families will get the materials for provisional shelters. „Other 500 families received food packages with rice, pulses, oil and salt. People will also get blankets and mattresses,“ says Denisa Bultasová, the humanitarian aid coordinator of People in Need.
PIN sent a special worker to the Himalayan area of Lho, who is monitoring needs of the local people, and there is also the other humanitarian worker in Chekampar. „People from the remote mountain areas are used to the tough living conditions. They are very self-sufficient, but now they have to face the consequences of the earthquake, which damaged their houses, schools, fields and food stocks. The earthquake destroyed local bridges and caused landslides. People are isolated from the markets, where they could buy food and other things,“ say Denisa Bultasová.
For instance, people living in Lho area are not able to get to the nearest market in Arkhet. It usually takes 7 days to get there by foot. „Beautiful nature of Tsum and Nubri valleys in Chekampar is one of the greatest obstacles for the local people at the moment. After the earhquake this is the only way they can get to the nearest market, and it usually takes about 6 days by walk. It is a big problem right now,“ explains the PIN´s humanitarian aid coordinator Sudip Joshi.
Cold weather is coming after the monsoon
World Food Programme is building new routes to the area and distributing immediate aid, such as food packages, at the same time. „In the following days we will distribute tarpaulins for provisional shelters, blankets and other necessities so that the people can prepare for monsoons and cold weather,“ says Sudi Joshi. People living in Lho have already received hundreds of tarpaulins so far and will get more aid in the following weeks.
People from the villages have already started to reconstruct their houses. „They are repairing public buidings like hospitals, schools and monasteries. But they will need proper tools and materials so that they could reconstruct roads, fix water supply and remove ruins,“ Denisa Bultasová descibes the situation.
PIN team experienced the second earthquake in Nepal
After the Nepalese people have slightly recovered from the first earthquake, which reached 7,8 points on the Richter scale, the second earthquake of 7,3 points hit the country last Tuesday. New damages made the situation even more complicated, especially the transportation of aid to some areas. PIN team members, who were distributing help in the epicenter area, experienced strong tremors as well.
The second earthquake resulted in 148 casualties and the total number of victims increased to 8 604 people, and other 16 808 people are injured. According to the Nepalese official statistics, 488 789 houses are completely destroyed, other 267 477 are damaged. „Because of the monsoons, destribution of the materials for provisional shelters is still our top priority. In the following weeks, we will start engaging local people to the process of reconstruction of the areas where the markets are working again. They will have the opportinity to earn some money by helping to remove the ruins,“ says humanitarian coordinator Emanuela Macková and adds that all PIN´s activities are coordinated with partners from the Alliance2015 and many other organisations. They cooperate with local organizations as well. Thanks to them, PIN can also provide help in remote areas, which are usually very hard to reach.
There are 9 PIN’s team members in Nepal, 15 local temam members and a great team of volunteers. 25,8 milion CZK has already been raised on the humanitarian account „Vodafone has been our most significat contributor so far. They donated more than 800 000 CZK and sent SMS to their customers encouraging people to support Nepal. We have also received 500 000 CZK from the Avast foundation,“ says Tereza Inková from the fundraising department of PIN. The O2 company has also organaised a fundraising among their employees and doubled the raised amount of money making the total sum of 500 000 CZK. People in Need would like to thank everyone, who has already made the contribution or considers doing so. These donations will help a lot during the reconstruction of the country in the following months.
People in Need in Nepal
People in Need announced a public appeal SOS Nepal. By the end of May, more than 1 million EUR was collected in donations. The organisation has also allocated up to 1 000 000 CZK from the humanitarian fund Friends of People in Need for the immediate aid, and sent 3 team members to Nepal day after the earthquaqe. The most devastating earthquake in Nepal in last 80 years reached 7,8 points on Richter scale, with the epicenter in the central area of the country. The other earthquake of 7,3 points hit Nepal on the 12th of May.