Nepal Earthquake – High Mountain Villages Update

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Long Awaited News:

Many of you have been anxiously awaiting news from Gadlang and the other high mountain villages beyond it. Meanwhile, the community in Gadlang has been anxiously awaiting supplies and contact with the outside. A small team was able to spend Friday in Gadlang – thanks to a helicopter ride. The devastation equalled the early reports. Every house is in rubble or very unstable – that’s 400 homes. As you can see from the pictures, the houses were built very close together, many even sharing walls. The “dry-stone” construction (no mortar) was no match for the earthquake. Clean-up will be very difficult because there is no space to move the rocks. They may have to relocate the entire village.

The people there were very happy to see the team. There were many words of encouragement, prayers and organization. The doctor from Hawaii (sorry I don’t know your name!) treated 80 people with various small injuries. Asher, Noel’s son, dispensed medicine. Beyond the physical injuries, there is enormous emotional shock and trauma among the people. They are living in the streets under make-shift shelters. The situation is dirty and unsanitary. Our people will work to improve these conditions.

: Gadlang from the air

: Every house is uninhabitable

Noel & Raju met with the elders from Gadlang and Nessing (another village a day’s hike away). They oriented 24 Work crew members in safe demolition techniques. They also left enough supplies to keep the work crews active. We hope to bring more supplies as soon as the road opens up. Even though it was only one day of contact, it was worth it.

: Medical clinic

: Temporary Pharmacy

: Community gathering

Where Does My Help Come From?

Solar cell phone charger is a huge hit.

We tried so hard and had so many people working all the available channels to secure helicopter services. Dead-ends seemed to be around every corner. Instead of coming from an NGO or other large organization, a helicopter materialized from the most unlikely place – an old friendship of Noel’s. A 4×4 truck which was secured, ended up getting sold before we could buy it. Another one ended up being sold to us for $5,000 less from an unknown generous Christian Nepali brother. An accident on the road to Gorhka ended up paving the way for the first shipment of supplies to reach Nareshawr. The small jeep wouldn’t have made it past the landslide, but the big truck which happened to come along right after the accident, and also happened to be empty, gave them a ride and made it past the landslide. Even a solar-powered cell phone charger seems like a miracle to !

Kindness extended. Supplies shared. Prayers prayed & answered. God’s tangible presence in healing and comfort. Our Nepali friends are very grateful of all the support, prayers and aid they are receiving. But they know the answer to the Psalmist’s question:

“I lift my eyes up to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, creator of the heavens and the earth!” Psalm 121

By the Numbers:

400 homes lost in Gadlang, home to 2,000.
80 patients were treated.
8,100 kg (17,850 lbs) of rice distributed.
3,000 kg more rice is ready to go.
3,500 kg of other food items (oil, sugar, salt, noodles) have been distributed.
100s of tarps and blankets – many more are ready to go as the situation develops.

In Other News:

The efforts continue in Chhampi. We will begin building a new church building which will have an attached shelter for Uddav & Pooja, the pastors there. This will give the community a suitable space in which to gather. Other shelters continue to be built.

Click on images to enlarge & view gallery.