Floods, Landslides, and Emergency Response

Floods, Landslides, and Emergency Response    

      In August the monsoon rains turned deadly in Nepal. The monsoons come every year, but this year  they were late in arriving. When the rains did come, they came harder than usual.  Up north in the mountains, the people build their humble homes literally on the edges of mountains.  When the rains hit hard during the night and the next few days, they lost their homes without warning to landslides that literally covered entire villages.  These landslides took out a hydroelectric plant (which means less power again - ugh!) and the major road for goods between China and Nepal.  South down in the Terai, a flat jungle type area, the rains led to massive flooding.  In the south the people build their homes on the river banks.  Their homes are made of bamboo poles for the structure and between the poles they use a grass thatch covered with mud.  When the floods hit, they lost all or part of their families, their homes, and what simple belongings they had.  It is hard to show you the damage because mud homes don't do well with water.  Everything, literally everything, was washed downstream.  The banks of the river have receded and you can't tell there were even homes along the banks.  Their rice fields are now mud fields.  When we went to the areas we could even get into to see, it was odd to see homes relatively untouched to homes still sitting in deep mud to river banks where there were once a grouping of homes.  That is just the way water works.  It goes where it wants and what it doesn't touch, it doesn't hurt.
     LDSC wanted to help out where they could and with what they could.  We decided to go south into the flooded areas.  We had $25,000 to spend, but we had to decide what were the needs.  With the help of the local Red Cross (good local people who love their neighbors) and CHOICE Humanitarian Nepal as our guides, we decided to give household items.  We had heard the government was giving food (rice, lentils, and oil), but they didn't have anything to cook it in.  We identified 500 families - about 6000 people - who were in the hardest hit areas and we headed south to Nepalgunj on the India border to buy what we could with our funding.  The nice thing about LDSC is that there is no administration cost taken out of their funding.  All humanitarian donations, I mean 100%, go to the people and their projects.  When there is an administration cost, it comes out of tithes and not humanitarian money.  We decided to purchase for each family 2 buckets (water and waste), wash tub, mug, blanket, sleeping mat, 2 cooking pots, cooking spoons (they eat with their hands), plates, and fabric for clothes.  We found suppliers in Nepalgunj and hired 2 transport trucks to take it the hour and half drive to the local Red Cross in the flooded district.  From the Red Cross location, we had to hire 3 tractors with trailers to haul the household supplies into the hard hit areas where the trucks couldn't drive.  The fact we could find tractors is amazing.  This is water buffalo country, and they do the hauling.  We were in a 4 wheel drive vehicle and there were places we drove that I wanted to get out and walk because they looked too treacherous to drive.  Jim told me to have faith, and we got up to where the people were waiting for us in a compound.  The villagers were organized by hamlets.  Each family who had been identified by the local Red Cross had a ticket for food and supplies.  If a family did not have a ticket, they didn't get supplies.  Only the very destitute were given supplies even though all the hamlets live very, very humbly.  It was 114 degrees outside with lots of humidity.  We were drenched with perspiration, but the local Nepalis that helped us were use to it and did all the heavy lifting.  It took just an afternoon at the final distribution point to hand out the supplies.  The people were kind and not downtrodden.  They are use to surviving, so they had happy faces and were very respectful.

     This will be one of those memories that will stick with us after we leave.  When you look at the pictures below, you will see why.  Enjoy.

It's hot!  When you walk out of the building your glasses fog up.

Buying the plastic ware.  Elder and Sister Wasuita are to the back.  They guy in the front is Kiran from CHOICE.  He was  our Nepali on the ground.  He worked so hard.  He was once a school teacher, but had to flee and hide in Kathmandu when the Maoists wanted to make an example of him to his village and kill him because the village would not comply to their demands.  He was incredible!

Buying fabric.  We want 12 meters for every family.  

I am waiting for the fabric to be cut.  I have a bag of candy for the kids who come to check out my white face.  It isn't long and I have a crowd of kids gathered around me.  Even some adults come looking for a piece of candy.  The scarf around my neck was given to me by the fabric shop owner.  He gave one to each of us so we could wipe the sweat off our faces.  The scarves were life savers.  We were definitely warm.

Loading up the blankets.  

This is one of 2 trucks that we hired to haul all that we bought.  The other truck was bigger.

This was once a home.  Lots of times there was not even this structure remaining.

We never passed another vehicle on our way to the distribution.  We did go around plenty of these teams of water buffalo.

Here comes our supplies loaded on trailers and pulled by tractors.  We had 3 of these, and if you look closely, you will see the people waiting for us.

We had our supplies stored in this building at the Red Cross about an hour's drive to the distribution point.  We are all happy to be on our way to the distribution.

These are the great local Nepalese Red Cross.  The girl in green is Sushma.  She is about 20 and speaks great English.  She did everything to keep us entertained while we waited for the supplies to be loaded onto the tractor trailors.  We are now Facebook friends.

These 2 young men also spoke great English.  They dropped by just to talk to us so they could use their English.  They were pleasant, and we enjoyed the visit with them.

Besides the children, I make a point to try to visit with the women and young women.  I think they are so beautiful and they think I am rather odd with my white skin and blond hair.  Sometimes they just want to touch me.  Even though I know they do not understand me, I always tell them they are beautiful, and they could be princesses.  Here they are telling me their names.  They laugh because I am not very good at repeating their Nepali names.  

The Nepali men go right to work to get our supplies unloaded  You can see the villagers waiting for their chance to pick up supplies.  The government is also there giving out a ten day supply of food.  What happens when there food runs out?  I really do not know.

It is horribly hot, but these women wait for until their hamlet name is called

When our SUV arrives, the people crowd around to see who has arrived.  I am coming from the right.

We gave them heavy plastic sacks to take their supplies.  This guy is picking up the first of 2 cooking pots and his cooking spoons.  

This cute lady has picked up her supplies, and soon she will walk home to her village.

We loved this Nepali Red Cross worker!!  He was so happy and spread sunshine to everyone despite the heat, the work involved in distributions, and the trials his people are surviving.  He loved Jim's small Swiss Army knife, and he used it all afternoon to cut open bags and slit plastic straps.  We would have left it with him if we could have bought another one, but they are not available here in Nepal.  

On our way back to Nepalgunj, we saw these cute ladies - all smiles - headed back home with their household supplies.  Aren't they gorgeous women?  We have no idea how far they had to walk, but this is how they travel - on foot.  With those smiles, you would never know they were going back to washed away homes and belongings.  

Jim put his perspiration scarf around his head turban style to see if he could keep the sweat from running down his face.  I am not sure if he was successful, but he looked awesome!

They brought this little girl to us to see if we could do anything to help her.  This growth on her nose has been growing for 6 years.  Her family can't afford a doctor.   The village children tease her.  LDSC can't do anything to help her, but the other missionary couple and we can.  We have found a team of  Nepali doctors who will donate their time and a hospital who will also donate their services.  We will have to get her and her father down out of the village and here to Kathmandu and provide lodging.  We think she will be operated on right after the holiday month is over - perhaps mid October.  She was so excited!

We have a few Tiny Tim Foundation little cars.  They were left by one of our HBB doctors last March for us to give away.  Nepali children do not have toys.  Imagine a Nepali child's shock when Jim offered him/her a car.

Even the mothers were excited when their children received a car.  We could have used a few more cars.  One mother was waiting for us when we returned from the distribution center.  She had waited all afternoon for us to return to get a car for her child.  We had given our last ones out as we had left the compound at the distribution center.  We were so sad to tell her that we didn't even have one left.

Look at this cute little girl. It is as if she is saying, "For me?"

At first the little children didn't know what to do with their cars.  We "drove" the cars up and down their arms, and then within minutes, they were down on the ground playing on their own.

          This post has gotten way too long.  It has been quite the month.  We have been in flooded villages.  We have cleaned flood water and mud out of homes in Kathmandu.  And we have stayed in a hotel when our own apartment complex was flooded and we lost power and water.  The monsoons have affected everyone this year.

          But in case anyone might think we are complaining, we are not.  We know whose work this is that we do.  We know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.  It is our privilege to help others. We wish you were all here to learn what we have learned.  The people of Nepal are simply wonderful!   

     

A Tiny Look at What We Do

     Jim is gone to the church and I have the computer for a minute so I thought I would add a couple more pictures of what we do.  It may appear that all we do is take preparation days and tour around but that is hardly the case.  Those days come about once every couple of weeks and they are rarely a whole day.  We spend a lot of days in the office writing projects and monitoring the work as it is being done.  But here are a few pictures of some of the things that we are doing right now.

We have funded knitting centers for the blind in the past.  We have not funded them this year, but our hope is that there will be extra money for funding coming in October.  These are blind women learning to knit which is a marketable skill here in Kathmandu - particularly in the tourist areas which by the way is Nepal's #1 industry.  Any skill given to someone with a disability where he can earn a living is one of our main goals - self reliance.  They are small projects not costing thousands and thousands of dollars and teach about 12 women every 6 months.  Who knows how many beneficiaries are affected by teaching them to knit and earn a paycheck, but I would be willing to bet that the number grows exponentially as well as cuts down on the abuse of the disabled which is common here.  LDSC's reason for not funding these centers is that the money allocated for Nepal this year was used out in the poorest of poor villages.  Always it is a difficult thing to know where to spend money that has been donated for humanitarian work.  Hopefully the money will come to support this center.  Time will tell.  

Much of our LDSC area money went to provide cleaner cooking out in the remote villages.  This is part of a metal stove that uses wood.  Jim got a peek at the stoves before the villagers came to pick them up.  They are fueled by wood and there is a chimney that vents to the outside of the home eliminating smoke inside and hopefully impacting the number of deaths caused by respiratory disease. Where there is no wood for fuel, LDSC tries to help with the installation oaf bio-gas digesters which use buffalo dung and human waste for fuel.  Our other area money went to latrines and basic greenhouses. There are so many needs and not enough money.  We do the best we can with what we have.

Jim represents LDSC at all sorts of functions.  He has learned to speak at a moment's notice in English and wait for a translator or someone who uses sign language to interpret what he says.  

Teaching English composition after church has become a weekly activity.  We feed those who come and then it is to work we go.  They try hard.  They do well considering they are using their second language, English, and not their native language. 

This nice man is waiting for a replacement wheelchair.  Not only are the tires trashed, but the rails on the right don't connect to the seat.  Some repairs can be done for a while, but then it becomes apparent that a new wheelchair is the best choice.  Each time a new wheelchair is given out, the recipient must meet government and LDSC requirements.  Most wheelchairs that are used outside last about 2 years at the most.  The terrain around here is rough to say the least.  We distribute about 1200 chairs a year, and we are about out of them.  Our next shipment will come in November just in time to have an American physical therapist come teach other physical therapists how to safely assess for a wheelchair.  

Taking time to get out to the village schools and give hygiene kits is the best.  You would think we had brought them a toy because they were excited to have a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, comb and soap.  The mothers all come too.  The kids sang and danced for us in appreciation.  The kids are our favorite part. The little boy in the front on the left taught me a Nepali dance. That was lots of fun.

The internet is loading pictures at a snail's pace so this is the end of the post.  We have 2 work stations in our office.  Jim uses his lap top and I use the church's computer.  We honestly spend most days in the office.  Jim uses his project management skills a lot to write projects, project costs and budgets.  Budgeting and money as my children know drives me crazy.  I even hate to balance the checkbook so to project numbers is always left to Jim.  That is okay because he doesn't like to fix meals so it is a good trade off.  We have no problem filling in our time.

We often remark that we have faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.  All the blessings that we treasure the most are those given by Him.  But in James 2:17, he takes faith a step further.  Faith if it does not have works is dead.  So because we have faith, being here in Nepal is our accompaniment to our faith.  It is really about doing good work and not just a vacation away from home.  And the wonderful thing that has come to both of us is that as we have worked here our faith has grown stronger.  We miss home, but we are glad to be here.  Our adventure in Nepal continues happily.  

Treasures in Nepal

          It is August, and July was a whirlwind.  We celebrated the 4th of July with the anticipation of having Doug and Brooke fly to Nepal for a visit.  They arrived the following week and we took a break from our schedule to show them the sites.  They were brave souls because this is monsoon season and humidity takes its toll on you.  We were fortunate that it didn't rain during the day - only at night most days.  Still it was fun to show them a little of where we live and what we do.  We did have a scheduled wheelchair distribution in Pokhara so we flew there.  Normally that is a 6 to 7 hour drive, but since time with them was short we flew there in 30 minutes.  That was a real treat for us too.  The pictures below will show you a little of our time together.  

Doug and Brooke came in late one night after a rough 30 hour flight over.  We met them at the airport and presented them with the ceremonial scarves.  To say the least they were exhausted so we fed them a snack and sent them to bed.  They were up by 6 the next morning and off to India for a 5 day excursion - without us.

A treasure that came with Brooke and Doug was a suitcase full of worldly treasures like a swiss army pocket knife for Jim.  His was confiscated in the New Delhi airport on our way to Nepal.  On the bed are marshmallows for heavenly popcorn, coconut, my favorite old Merrill sandals, spices, clothes, and of course for me - bottles of hair product.  It was like Christmas!!!!

One of the favorite treasures were these 2 dog repellers from my brother.  Some times the dogs pester me as we walk home with groceries.  They leave Jim alone. Rabies is common here so instead of risking it, my brother sent me these repellers that emit a high frequency sound.  His question was would they work, and they do!!!  After the kids left we were on our way to the store and here came the pesky black dog.  Jim hit the button and the dog stopped.  He came at us again and Jim hit the button and this time he stopped and turned around and went the other way.  Success! We keep them in our pockets so no one sees that we are using them.  

Doug was treated to an old fashioned straight edge shave.  We are not sure if he enjoyed it or not, but it was one of our treats for him.  Besides the common scruffy look that most American guys are sporting nowadays is just not that acceptable here in Nepal.  Nepalese men for the most part are very clean shaven except for a mustache or the Hindu priests who have so much facial hair that they can weave it into dreadlocks.

Another treasure we got for Doug was a trip to the tailor shop.  These are plentiful and Nepalese are excellent tailors even though they use the old fashioned treadle sewing machines.  Nepal has load shedding so there are long stretches of no power. Consequently they use the treadle machines.  Doug picked out his fabrics and had 2 button down shirts made to fit him.  They were ready in two days and we paid $12 a shirt.  I had 3 shirts made for $9 each.  Most clothing is hand made here.  Western type clothing is beginning to show itself however.  We didn't forget about Brooke even though we don't have any pictures of her treasures.  We took her to the typical Nepali jewelry store.  She looked at the gems - rubies, emeralds, etc.  She chose topaz and although we thought she would choose a ring, she chose to have earrings made.  They are very pretty and set off that gorgeous hair she has.

We flew to Pokhara which is a beautiful place sitting right below the big peaks which we call the Himals.  They have a sunrise hike to an observation point below the mountains so you can see the sun peak over these spectacular mountains.  So we were up by 4:30 am and off to the hike.  Unfortunately the sunrise was hidden by the clouds and the fog.  It was still beautiful.

In Pokhara there is Lake Phewa.  People fish and tourists go boating.  Tragically this lake is highly polluted, and we were not sure we wanted to be out in these boats.  Before dinner we took a walk around the lake and enjoyed watching the boats and the people.

We spent the afternoon at the Mountain Museum outside of Pokhara.  They have a replica of the Mount Everest.  Doug and Brooke did the climbing and this was as close to Everest that they got.  If it had not been the rainy season, there is a mountain flight that buzzes the big peaks.  Perhaps in the winter months, we will splurge for that.  

We are ready and waiting outside a rehab center for the wheelchair recipients to arrive.  We are under a tarp to protect us all from the rain.  The wheelchairs are lined up and even though you can't see it, each wheelchair has a name on it for a certain person who has been assessed and measured for a wheelchair.   LDSC only gives wheelchairs to those who can't afford to buy a wheelchair.  We came early so we could greet the people as they arrive.  

This lady is an exception to the rule here in Nepal.  Her mother is behind her, and she says that her family has always believed in her so she has not been mistreated in any way.  She and her mother had smiles on their faces.  She owns a little shop, and her wheelchair has helped her to become more independent.  This is her second chair from LDSC.  Her other was worn out. 

Doug is greeting the main administrator for the Independent Living Society who has sponsored this event in Pokhara.  The young men who have gathered around are just interested in what is happening and are watching.  Doug likes people so he engages them in conversation, and before long, , , , , 

They are walking down a path in hopes of playing a pick up game of basketball.  Doug is on the right.  The  court is on the campus of the rehab center and it was all locked up so they had to return.  It was pretty tempting to climb the fence, but they resisted and returned to the distribution.  

Doug got his wish to play basketball though.  After the distribution, the recipients wanted to play basketball.  Those who didn't want to play were the spectators.  Doug went along to retrieve the ball that went out of bounds, but it wasn't long and someone brought him a wheelchair (too small for him) so he could play too.  He had the best time with them, and we think they thoroughly enjoyed playing with Doug.  Anytime a handicapped person can do the normal things, it makes a huge impact on everyone.  Everybody becomes a believer that handicaps are just a challenge, but never should they be a stopping block.  Doug got a blister on his hand from stopping too fast, but he said it was all worth it.  In fact I think he would tell you that this was the highlight of his whole Nepal trip. Afterwards he and the team just hung out at the distribution point.  They looked like a bunch of old friends.  

One of our other duties is to hand out white canes to the blind.  Doug and Brooke took care of this for us.  They were a wonderful set of people. They live in a home for the blind.  They came on the bus from this home to the distribution venue all on their own.  They came as a group by themselves all holding on to each other.  Now with white canes they can have more independence.  

This picture has nothing to do with Doug and Brooke and wheelchairs, but this young man and his dog showed up to see  what was happening.  I wondered about the spots on his dog.  His answer was if you really love your dog (and we rarely see any affection towards the dogs) then you "dot" him.  That is how people know the dog is owned and loved.  There is no need to buy a dog collar.  Just paint dots on him.  Awesome!

We made it back to Kathmandu and it was time to see the sights where we live.  We found ourselves a taxi and squished inside.  This was an old, old van which is unusual.  Most of the taxis are compacts.  We are headed to Pashupati, the sacred Hindu cremation area located on the Bagmati River.  We were held "kidnapped" by a tour guide who wanted a lot of money, but I will say we got a great tour.  Doug and Brooke saw the decorated Hindu priests and learned about the ceremonies and the dedication of families to make sure their dead are cremated in a way to take them to wherever they are suppose to go.  It is too hard to explain.  If you are interested, you will just have to look it up yourselves.

Also riding in taxis is always fun.  It didn't take me long to learn how to say  "bistari, bistari" which means slow, slow.  Most drivers are very nice, but I have picked out a few that I will NOT ride with in their cars.  Manos is my favorite taxi driver.  He is pleasant and has a bigger taxi and speaks some English and is willing to share some of his culture with us.  He has a wife that he married for love (not an arranged marriage) and a little 8 year old son.  He does not drink or smoke and is a devout Hindu.  

At least our Pashupati tour guide offered to take a picture of us as we stood among the temples.

Another stop was at Boudanath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Asia.  Buddhist stupas differ from Hindu temples because Buddhist temples have a set of eyes on top that look at you.  Doug is at the prayer rolls.  People turn them in a certain direction to send their prayers to heavens.  One of the other main differences between a Buddhist and a Hindu is Buddhists believe in the sanctity of life and do not sacrifice.  Hindus sacrifice animals.  There are lots of other differences too.

This is for Alissa.  There are pigeons everywhere in Kathmandu.  But here at Boudanath, there are masses of pigeons.  They sell some type of seed to the public so they can feed them.  The little boy didn't buy any seed.  His fun was chasing them when they swoop down to get some of the seed that has been thrown to them.  He had those birds in quite a commotion.

Bhaktapur is one of our favorite places to go.  It is an ancient city and was once an independent kingdom.  Now it is a city known for its artisans.  It is quite clean and the villagers take good care of it.  Brooke and Doug did a lot of their souvenir shopping here.

This was our day for Monkey Temple (Swayambunath). Here there are 3 massive Buddhas - and a lot of monkeys.  They roam freely.  And if you have ice cream or candy or something they want, they sneak up and grab it from you.  Unbeknown to us, Brooke didn't like the monkeys and she kept a careful eye on them and a whole lot of space between her and them.  Unfortunately Jim and I are a little directionally deficient and Manos told us he would meet us on the back side of this temple.  We went off the wrong back side and got lost.  It took 2 Nepali men to talk to our driver on the cell and then lead us to where he was before we got back to our taxi.  It is all just part of the adventure.

This monkey doesn't look too threatening, does she?  We are not afraid of them, but we also keep a healthy distance between them and us.

This is Jim's and mine favorite little oasis in the middle of noisy Kathmandu.  It is a restored palace garden.  There is a terrace restaurant that we love to go to for lunch when we have been stuck in the office for days.  They serve European dishes rather than Nepali.  We didn't take Doug and Brooke there to eat, but we toured the gardens.  All the park benches are occupied with snuggling young people.  It appears the days of arranged marriages may be declining, but it is very slow.  

We were very careful with food and Doug and Brooke.  We didn't need to ruin their trip with exposure to bad food.  But we did want them to get a taste of Nepali food.  We have this dear housekeeper, Rukmina (front) who we adore.  She doesn't live far from us and her sister is standing behind her.  Rukmina knows what us Americans can tolerate food wise and when she cooks for us, she tones down the heavy Nepali spices.  She wanted to cook a traditional Nepali dinner for us and Doug and Brooke at her home.  It was delicious and we think even Doug and Brooke enjoyed it.  Nepali homes are small so we sat in the living room around a coffee table.  She had all of her cooked dishes sitting on the table, and she served us chicken, rice, razma, shrimp chips, vegetables and rice pudding.  She would not eat with us or even let her son, Hitson, eat with us.  That is considered impolite so she waited until after we left.  I don't know what we would do without her.  She helps us with all of our questions, language training, and safety tips.  She is one lady we will miss when we return.  I could learn so much from her about love and generosity and singing while you work.

This was a last minute invitation from our Nepali partner, Rakesh, and his wife, Sunilla.  They took us to dinner at a Nepali restaurant that offered food from northern Nepal.  There are 127 different ethnic groups here with their own type of dishes.  It was delicious too, and Rakesh and Sunilla knew how to order for Americans.  We had no spice and they had lots of spice.  We put Brooke on the other side of Doug because she is not the adventurous eater and there were things she just didn't want to eat.  It worked well, and everyone was happy.  Rakesh and Sunilla gave Doug a Gorkha knife.  I suggest no one mess with him because he is now armed and dangerous.

     It was pure joy to have Doug and Brooke here.  I know they thought we might struggle to say goodbye when they left, but we have a lot of work to do here before we can fly back home.  We are only suppose to have 2 to 3 open projects at a time but we have 7. We also have 2 major projects, wheelchairs and neonatal resuscitation, that take up our time, besides working with our little church.  So, time is flying by and there is His work to do.

     There are treasures everywhere in the world.  We don't do any preaching of Christianity here in Nepal, but our faith in Christ is still what motivates us and is our real "treasure."  In Luke 12 Christ is talking to his disciples and telling them to go out and teach and not to worry about where they sleep and what they eat.  Then he says,"But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." So first seek Him.  Then four verses later he tells them, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  So for now, we are trying to do our best to be the very best disciples we can be in a very mortal kind of way because our treasure is truly Him.  

     Hope you enjoyed Doug and Brooke's adventure in Nepal.