Yangri: Case Study In Earthquake Relief
The powerful M7.8 earthquake claimed thousands of lives, turned centuries old monuments into dust, and flattened villages across several distracts in Nepal.
In the days after the earthquake, governments around the world along with relief agencies and NGOs scrambled to send search and rescue, relief and medical teams to the most affected areas in Nepal.
Nepal hasn’t experienced a significant earthquake in over 80 years, and as one of the poorest countries in the world, there wasn’t a disaster plan in place. I would argue even now, almost a month after the initial earthquake, the government of Nepal is still woefully asleep at the wheel.
Rather than point finger or complain about the challenges we face, let’s talk potential solutions. What does it take to jump start a village back to normalcy after a devastating earthquake?
I’ve been fortunate to meet the leaders of nonprofits in Nepal that are making a real difference, and I’ve traveled to many village across Sindupalchowk and Dhading districts since the earthquake. /, and spent countless hours walking around the streets of Kathmandu talking to people.
Now enough time has passed that we can look back and see what’s working and what’s not.
Yangri
Yangri is a village in Sindupalchowk District that more than 30 families call home. It’s situated at the bottom of a beautiful gorge, with a stunning white river flowing through it, and the majestic Paanch Pokhari mountain standing tall above it. The M7.8 earthquake that rocked Nepal on April 25 wasn’t kind to Yangri.
Let’s look at Yangri closely and it’s progress over the past 7 days.
Before — May 8, 2015
The JRM Foundation led by Dr. Rahim heard of the immediate need in Yangri village in early May. They chartered a private helicopter, loaded it with emergency supplies and landed in Yangri. Not only did they bring much needed food and shelter, they brought an ear to listen intently to the village’s concerns.
Watch this powerful video of Dr. Rahim speaking with a villager, and you’ll get a sense of desperation in the village.
Dr. Tsering Lama, President of ChildReachNepal, says “You don’t need to have the answers right away. All you need to do is go to the villages and listen. Once you’re there, you’ll know what you need to do.”
One Week Later — May 15:
JRM Foundation’s Gokul Thapa and I flew into Yangri exactly a week after the video above was recorded. We were there to deliver an additional 800 kgs of supplies (food/tarps/water tablets).
We talked with the villagers for about 2 hours, and walked around to get a sense of how the situation on the ground had changed in a week.
The situation is less dire now, and there are several reasons to be hopeful about the future.
People have built temporary shelters from the rubble and raw materials they could salvage. There’s a little shed for a kitchen where community meals are cooked and served. There’s a shed where kids were playing. This is a testament to the fact that people are remarkably resourceful. The villagers here and in other parts of Nepal are reusing everything they can find in the rubble.
What’s next?
The biggest challenge facing Yangri and the thousands of villages across Nepal is the upcoming monsoon season. Even before the earthquake, thousands of people would succumb to water-borne diseases like diahhrea in Nepal. But now, the challenge is bigger than ever. Every house in Manekharka (and hundreds of other villages) is destoryed. Families are living in sheds or under plastic tarps, with minimal arrangements for personal hygiene and sanitation.
“When monsoon starts, and they still don’t have toilets and proper sanitation available. The chances of the local water supply becoming contaminated is high, which will result in an outbreak”, said Dr. Pramod Khanal.
Thanks to the JRM Foundation and some help from other organizations, this village has enough food for the next several weeks.
“People aren’t looking for a hand out, they’re looking for a hand to help them stand up,” said Dr. Rahim of the JRM Foundation
This village has made good progress in the last week, because of the JRM Foundation’s supplies and also the villager’s resourcefulness.
In the powerful earthquake, all the buildings here collapsed in the earthquake. 2 are still standing, but they are uninhabitable. They’re on the verge of collapsing. Short term: They have temporary shelter and food. Now we need to think of medium term solutions: Trauma counseling + tents (not tarps) for upcoming monsoon. Then, any assistance for more permanent housing. 7 people in this village died in the April 25 earthquake when the rocks their houses were built out of, fell on them. The people here are strong, resourceful and have a deep sense of community. The approach that the JRM Foundation used in this villages should be replicated to all others as quickly as possible.
Kudos to JRM team for showing up, listening to the people, taking action and following up. It’s as simple as that. There are hundreds more villages that still need our help.
You can support the JRM Foundation by contributing to their crowd-funding campaign, and following them on Facebook.
The story of the earthquake is not a story about rubble, it’s a story about hope, resilience and courage. You can read about 6 year old, Susma, from Yangri village too.
If you enjoyed this article, you should probably follow me on Twitter at @amrit_sharma.
