Sunni Dawson

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earthquake nepal

We need you!

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Nepali people speak. Nepal needs both volunteers and tourists, now.
I read the articles. I’m sure you did too. ‘Don’t come to Nepal’ was the persistent and continuing message from writers across the globe. Everyone cited Haiti.
 
Haiti was a disaster. Volunteers put a strain on resources, preventing emergency crews and doctors from saving lives. A horrid situation indeed. Contributed to by well intentioned people. So the message for Nepal was clear: unless you are a doctor, or a trained recovery worker, we don’t want you.
 
Who doesn’t love a trishaw?

Fair enough. Makes sense to me. Disaster zone, too many people getting in the way of the vital emergency work.

I decided to come to Nepal anyway. I’m not a doctor or an emergency worker, but I am skilled. I knew I would bring skills that could be utilised. I arrived just under 5 weeks after the first earthquake of 7.8, and 2 weeks after the second 7.3 earthquake hit.
 
I thought that arriving 4 weeks or so after the disaster would allow time for the initial emergency work to be completed. I heard reports of the whole of Kathmandu being a disaster zone, that there would be nowhere to stay, and no basic facilities like water, electricity.
 
I had a friend in Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake, who luckily remained unscathed, but slept outside with pretty much everyone else for the first few days post earthquake for fear of aftershocks. She informed me that 3 days after the quake she found accommodation and restaurants open in Thamel, the tourist area of Kathmandu.
 
This first hand account settled my initial fears from the gargantuan disaster reports I’d heard in the news and from ‘friends of friends’ who left Nepal back to their countries of origin after the quakes.
 

Since arriving here 3 weeks ago, the time has flown by. Every day I have spent hours chatting with locals about their towns, villages and homes being destroyed by the quakes. I have spent the majority of my time working with two amazing local NGOs documenting, project planning recovery projects and strategising options for their continuing work. 

 
I’ve also been approached by many other Nepali people and groups to assist them. Unfortunately, I have not been able to help everyone, as much as I have wanted to. There are just not enough hours in each day.
 
I’ve spoken to many many locals who have formed groups to go out and help affected villages and towns. For the first days / week after the quake, the focus was getting supplies to decimated villages, but in terms of recovery work, there was little that could be facilitated by untrained helpers.
 
In the subsequent weeks and still continuing now, locals people and organisations are forming groups to go out into villages to help the most affected areas. 
 
The continuous refrain from local Nepali people here is: ‘We need
volunteers to come here, get to know us, come out to our villages and see if you want to help us rebuild.’ The message I’ve heard is that they don’t want money, but they want supplies and people to invest time in their communities. Have a read of the stories on my second post on Kathmandu.
 
But aren’t the government and big NGOs helping?
 
Yes, they are. But many villages still not have been reached, those villages in really remote and unsafe mountainous terrain. I met one man walked in for days to a village that had not had any assistance. From anyone. He said even the walking path was dicey. He brought much needed solar supplies to the village who had not had any electricity since the quakes.

Overwhelming it seems that local solutions from and with local people appear to be what’s making the greatest impact. There are many articles and organisations that have documented this, see list below (please note however, a lot of the work done by locals remains unseen – it truly is amazing the impact of locals helping locals).

 
Is it safe?
View from Thamel burbs were all is ok!

Many buildings have been destroyed across Kathmandu and in Thamel, the tourist area. But the great majority of buildings in Thamel are still standing. And are open for business: there are ample options for accommodation and food (really, really great food – my taste buds have loved me since I arrived!). I’ve had continual access to fresh water, electricity, wifi and did I mention great food? I have been in many other districts around Kathmandu and had access to all of this too (there are obviously areas that don’t due to the destruction, but most do).

 
I have also travelled by myself all over Kathmandu, and been completely fine.


Quakes.
KTM

I have experienced ‘medium’ sized earthquakes a few times since arriving. Its a weird feeling indeed to have your whole hotel building move around and with you. These secondary earthquakes haven’t caused a lot of damage in Kathmandu, but have affected some of the smaller villages outside of Kathmandu severely. And the hotels that I’ve been in still stand. And those around me.

 
More and more businesses are opening in the streets surrounding Thamel, particularly in the past week (Thamel has had pretty consistent openings of restaurants and hotels since the quakes). People who fled after the quakes are returning to Kathmandu. It’s where they can get work.
 
But they need people to buy from them. I’ve spoken to business owner after business owner and all say that even if their business is fine and home is fine, they are not getting any business because there are no tourists. This is depressing and dire situation.
 
 
What about the monsoon?

 The monsoon should have started by now. But it has not yet properly hit, so yes it will hamper the building of shelters and homes, but it does not mean that shelters and other help in affected areas are not needed. It is. 

 
KTM

It means that things will take longer, and be delayed. There is other work that can be done here in the meantime, like local building help around Kathmandu, project work, fundraising for various local organisations and skill sharing. 

 
Alternatively, plan to come when the monsoon ends. 
 
One of the fabulous brainstorming sessions we’ve had!




Tips for making fabulous contributions when you get to Nepal:

  • Get to know a little bit about Nepal before you come. Besides its beautiful mountains, Nepal is an incredibly diverse country with over 123 language and cultural groups.
  • Learn some of the national language, Nepali. You can learn Nepali basics by downloading apps and practising with locals when you get here. It is much appreciated.
  • Meet locals, ask what their needs are. Visit the communities, find out what they want. Understand what they are currently doing and work out ways that you can help them achieve their goals. Think like and act like it’s a long term partnership and friendship. Because, it most likely will become this.
  • Be respectful to local customs and people. 3 simple things you can do:
Observe. Look at what locals are wearing and how they
                behave when they greet each other and enter spaces.
Ask.        If you don’t understand something, ask a local. 
                They will be more than happy to share with you! 
Follow.    Follow and respect local customs.
  • Don’t volunteer or give money to orphanages. Children are not tourist attractions. Importantly, 2 out of 3 orphans in Nepal are ‘paper’ orphans. This means that they have at least one or both parents alive. The majority of parents are from disadvantaged communities who are promised by convincing men that their child/ren will get an education if they give the child to the orphanage. Usually the orphanage is a money making machine getting money from unsuspecting tourists and treating the children incredibly poorly.
  • If you come during the monsoon, be prepared. Be patient, know that things will take longer. Get creative and work with the Nepali villages you are helping. See what can be done in current shelters or communities. Ask Nepali communities what they need and how you could best assist them.
So many advertisements seeking volunteers!!

Be thoughtful, consultative and guided by Nepali people in all that you do! They are some of the most friendliest, kind people on the planet. Enjoy your time here, its guaranteed to be an enriching experience!

 
 
Oh, and if you just want to be a tourist….
Last night street scene in Thamel

Please come! I met a father and daughter from the States the other day in Thamel. They were trepidatious about coming at this time. They spent a week here and loved it. They enjoyed the differences between India and Nepal (they had just come from India and were enjoying a ‘break’ from the amazing crazy state that India induces!).

 

Thamel in Kathmandu is still a fabulous place to be, restaurants, bars, pubs, live music, great food.


9 out of the 10 National Parks are safe and able to be explored. Also, famous areas like Pokhara in Nepal were not greatly affected. The mountains, lakes and beauty await you! Its only 6 hours by bus from Kathmandu (or you can fly there!). So please come and support Nepal getting back on its feet (tourism supports around 500,000 jobs in Nepal). You are sure to have a great time!

And finally, check out #YouHikeTheyRise campaign and videos demonstrating just how beautiful and crucial your visit here is.

Articles / Sources:

‘Kopan – Helping hands’, www.fpmt.dk/kopans-thousands-of-helping-hands/, www.kopanmonastery.com/kopan-helping-hands.

‘Nepal’s aid system is broken, so these lifesavers hacked it’, www.wired.com/2015/05/nepal-earthquake-aid/

‘Himilayan Climate Initiative’ (Nepali youth driven sustainable housing initiative), www.himalayanclimate.org

‘Association of Youth Organisations in Nepal’, www.facebook.com/AyonNepal?fref=ts

‘Bhukampa Engineers’, www.bhukampa.net

‘Abari’ http://abari.org

‘Nepal Rises’, www.nepalrises.com

‘Nepal425’, www.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/06/02/nepal425/.

‘GMIN, Grassroots Movement in Nepal’, www.gmin.us
‘#YouHikeTheyRise Campaign’, http://himalayanenchanter.com/youhiketheyrise/

‘Reasons why you should visit Nepal now’ http://nepaltraveladvisory.blogspot.com/2015/06/reasons-why-you-should-visit-nepal-now.html

If you are interesting in helping stop children being trafficked and getting children back to families (where they should be), consider donating to Forget Me Not: www.forgetmenot.org.au.