Growing up privileged, a group of “punks turned philanthropists” help their country rise from the rubble.
Nepal is lush, mountainous, and ancient. Its peaks kiss the heavens, and its exotic charm seduces even the most jaded traveler. When the Nepalese speak of home, they call forth memories of cool mountain air; of running around their villages; the chaos of Kathmandu, their capital; the ripe greenery; the addictive, savoury taste of momos (meat dumplings); and how much, despite their history of conflict and political strife, they love their country.
On April 25, 2015 at 11:56 Nepal Standard Time, a 7.8- magnitude quake struck the country and left nearly 9,000 people dead, and over 22,000 injured. Millions of others were affected by the loss of their homes, their income, and for some, even access to outside help.
For over thirteen million Nepali living far from home, the quake served as a beacon: one needed to come home to help. If one couldn’t, the least they could do was do something — ANYTHING — to help those who were deeply affected by the earthquake.
“The Nepal Earthquake was a test of our commitment, our love and affection for our country,” writes Sushil Koirala. He is a well-educated public health professional, and has spent most of his adult life working in the development sector. As the president of The Survivors, the organization he co-founded with friends in response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, he speaks with passion and fire.
The Survivors is a unique organisation, bourne out of the fervour of a small group of friends and like-minded individuals. “Survivors pulls its strengths from the capacity of a small group of old friends who had their own lives and interesting times,” Koirala recalls fondly. “Fortunately, we have done well in life. Most of us have been around the world, gone to the best of schools and and have built a huge network of friends, who are very good at what they do. True to the core of being Nepalese is to build friendships akin to a band of brothers.”
As with all friends, they did have their share of fun and rabble-rousing in their youth. However, for Koirala, “Our passion for unworthy things in the past has evolved into a passion to help our country turn around and rise. At the time of crisis, we fortunately had that audacity to focus on solutions, and not get bogged down by rules and regulations.” This “anti-establishment” outlook, Koirala says, stemmed from their rebellious, “heavy metal-loving renegade” pasts .
After the Quake: immediate help, as quickly as possible
During the early days following the Nepal earthquake, the founders and members of The Survivors rallied together to give immediate assistance to those in most need. “After an initial phase of being incredibly emotional due to such a huge loss of life and livelihood, we did get quite committed to the opportunity to act,” notes Koirala.
He further narrates: “Right after the Nepal Earthquake 2015, we assembled a team of like-minded individuals and start sourcing supplies to help. Being development professionals, we knew what lay ahead in terms of what people may need and how we were going to deliver it. We also knew the problems on delivering the relief.”
“We started with one simple goal: we want to go as far as we could, and help as many as we could.”
The group did have some advantages on their end. Koirala, as well as The Survivors co-founder Nirakar Shrestha, were well-connected. In addition, “we could get help from law enforcement, the Army, and the authorities and we had some money that we were ready to put in place.”
They did, however, face a few challenges. In his words, Koirala writes: “We did not know the communities well. We were totally caught off-guard by the complexities of managing expectations, local interest groups and petty political bickering. We were in trouble at a few places, but it was nothing that we could not handle or we were not prepared for.”
The results were both impressive and impactful. “First, we reached people with healthcare through ad-hoc camps, temporary shelters, food and water purification solutions. We reached 11 villages in 4 districts in first 21 days.” What’s more, by focusing only on necessary items and by rallying donors from Kathmandu to provide them with relief supplies, the group kept costs low and the relief process efficient: they reached over 1,000 households, with operating costs as low as USD11.75 per household.
The group also reached an administrative achievement in record time. Fifteen days after the Nepal Earthquake, The Survivors was officially formed and registered — not a small feat for a country whose government is notorious for its bureaucracy.
The Survivors Rising
The Survivors is an inclusive organisation, its founders eschewing the common notion of charity and philanthropy. The expertise that is often imposed on recipient communities by outside organisations is done away with as well. Koirala says, “Our belief revolves around being partners in change, the change that we sometimes intervene and help (sic) but are mostly built within the communities. We believe we are empowering people we work with, we assist them in the solution they seek.”
100% of its individual donations go to relief and reconstruction work — with no hidden costs behind it. The organisation founders say they have a 100% transparency approach, with every penny spent published in the public domain: on its website, as well as on its social media posts.
Common relief and developmental models often operate with a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. Survivors, however, operates with what they call an “end-to-end” model: where lifesaving services or assistance are taken all the way to the end-users and are carefully coordinated in each stage of the supply chain. Unlike other organisations, The Survivors also don’t want to limit themselves with any specific expertise; this is so that they can provide assistance based on a community’s changing needs.
Two Years Later
As the country of Nepal rebuilds itself, The Survivors have focused their efforts on two remote villages, with 1,958 households in total. They zeroed-in on the basics of community rebuilding: restarting education for the younger generation; continued health and hygiene awareness training; better access for the local communities to the country’s reconstruction packages; and addressing mental health issues through psychosocial counseling and referrals.
The Survivors is a lean organization, but their achievements are certainly nothing to scoff at: these two communities have successfully secured support to rebuild all 13 of their schools (and built five of them themselves); four health posts have been reestablished; and almost every household has received their government-sponsored reconstruction packages. Their work, rooted in the vision of ‘building back better’ is still ongoing: there are plans to build a new school and a community hospital.
Koirala notes: “We also want to continue helping the community in expanding healthcare, and we want to continue investing in improving education, and provide opportunities to build the community stronger and grow.”
How can you help?
For more information on The Survivors and the work that they do, please visit their website at www.the-survivors.org. You may donate via the website as well. For individuals or groups who wish to lend their expertise, you may email them at info@the-survivors.org.
- Erika
Original article here.
