Earthquake Relief work by NLT – nearly 120 tonnes delivered so far!
30 tonnes of NLT aid for Sindhupalchowk
Those of you following the news will be aware of the efforts of relief agencies in Nepal to take aid to people who have lost houses and food supply due to the earthquake on April 25th. Since then there have been almost 300 significant aftershocks including a severe one on 12th May which caused further serious damage and loss of life. Our fantastic staff at Lalgadh decided early on to get involved and have been delivering food, tarpaulins and blankets to families in serious need in Sindhuli District and Sindhupalchowk District to the north of Lalgadh. Sindhupalchowk has been one of the hardest hit districts with over 3,000 people killed and 66,000 houses destroyed. Since our first trip to investigate the situation on 20th May, we have delivered about 60 tonnes of supplies to two large village areas – Tauthali and SimpalKavre VDCs – to support about 1800 families for the next few weeks. We have since been requested to supply aid to a northern village area called Golche VDC in Sindhupalchowk which has not been receiving aid from the government or other NGOs so far. Our vehicles set off today, in convoy with the trucks we have hired, to deliver another 39 tonnes of aid for 900 households in Golche. Along with the aid delivered early on to Sindhuli, this brings our total aid delivered to nearly 120 tonnes, an amazing achievement for a small NGO whose main job is helping people affected by leprosy!
The main road through Chautara – the district centre of Sindhupalchowk
On the road to SimpalKavre
The devastation in these village areas is nearly total, with every house partially or completely destroyed in many cases. Some of the roads were very difficult to travel on but by reloading the supplies onto smaller vehicles, the relief made it through to the target villages. What was particularly moving was the way the people queued in a quiet and orderly way to wait for their turn to receive their supplies. There is a quiet dignity about these people that shows their resilience and trust, and it is a privilege to be able to help in these small ways.
The road to SimpalKavre
NLT landrover arrives with supplies
We continue to be amazed, humbled, and very grateful to all those who have donated money towards this relief effort, and without which we could do very little. None of these supplies have come from the government or the international supplies sitting at Kathmandu airport. We have bought every sack of rice and every blanket ourselves and paid for the trucks and fuel to transport them. Your donations have made that possible and will have have helped over 3000 households when the latest convoy reaches Golche tomorrow. There is much more to do and we will be delivering more supplies, and then helping with providing better shelters for families through the monsoon rains that will arrive soon.
We are glad that we have been able to play our part, along with many other organizations at this difficult time. We honour our staff, along with Dr Graeme Clugston, who have accompanied these trips and have endured difficult and dangerous roads to see the supplies safely through. Most of all we acknowledge our Faithful Heavenly Father who enables us to do so much more than we think is possible. What a Mighty God we serve!
Handing out the supplies
A happy family!