The humanitarian disaster in Nepal affects the region and many of us abroad. So this week’s Leading Lights column is highlighting the earthquake-devastated country.
Three people giving their all to help Nepalese children in rural communities are the leaders of the Dolma Development Fund, two of them founding members. They are; Tsering Lama, CEO of Dolma Ecotours and Dolma Development Fund Board Member, Tim Gocher, Dolma Chairman, and Carla Carla Teixeira Alvares Kaspar, Dolma’s Chief Financial Officer.
Dolma Development Fund is one of the few non-governmental organisations that supports ethnic Nepalese villagers high in the mountains north of Kathmandu near the Tibetan Chinese border.
Many of the villages sit directly in the path of the earthquake and contain ethnic tribals who don’t even have citizenship, let alone basic necessities. Tsering, Tim and Carla are working to help the remote villages where there is no communication, as they have been hit hardest.
Bridim, at around 3,000 metres, has been flattened. Bridim is home to many of Tsering’s relatives. Tsering, his wife and children live in Kathmandu but frequently visit Bridim. He is responsible for building the farming village up to a sustainable level but now everything has gone.
The Dolma Development Fund set up a school in Dhunche, at around 2,000 metres, to educate 500 ethnic Tibetan children and orphans of the area.
Dolma’s Chief Finance Officer, Carla Teixeira Alvares Kaspar, told us, “Bridim is practically razed to the ground. We have no idea how many people have survived. There are no rescue missions operating in such isolated areas.”
She spoke of “horrendous landslides” hitting Dhunche and adjacent villages. “There is little communication and power. It was impossible before. With the monsoon coming in a month or two I don’t anticipate they are going to restore electricity or even communication or minimal roads to the mountains before December. Everything is going to stop in the monsoons.”
Carla, a homeopathic doctor, knows the task for authorities is too hard, so is taking action herself and flying to Nepal.
“Tim and I are going to get a helicopter and do the rescue of our children ourselves.”
Tim Gocher lives in Kathmandu with his Nepalese wife, Pooja. Phones are jammed so all communication is via social media. Earlier, he sent us this message.
“7.30am Nepal time. Pooja , the boys and I are all still fine, however, things are much worse than we thought yesterday as information comes through. The Dolma charity has lost children we sponsor, the school in Dhunche is largely destroyed along with most of the small houses in the town. Information on casualties and damage is patchy.
Tsering Lama asked me to tell everyone that he and family are OK, although he lost Ibi, his adorable old aunt in the quake. His internet is down. We slept in the car last night and most people are too scared to go back to their homes. There are still aftershocks and I think we're not going back in today. Sorry for the bad news. There's nothing good about this situation.
I have literally just launched a campaign to help the survivors in these communities. Please donate and share the campaign. The communities need to get assistance quickly.”
An hour before I wrote this column, Tim posted an update.
“Relief operations are in full swing. In Dhunche, 150 homeless people at most risk are being sheltered and fed, and emergency food rations are being distributed to hundreds of others. We have a team there of five and growing led by Prashun Raj Gurung with the help of local government and army. In Kathmandu, we are completing a needs assessment and registering with the central government crisis centre at the Home Ministry. We are initially focussed on the villages surrounding Dhunche and the remote villages of Bridim, Lingling and others, with towns and villages in between.
Data from local government states that over 8,000 have lost their homes in Rasuwa district and are at high risk. We are arranging an air lift of essential supplies of tents, blankets, dry food and medical supplies as soon as we can get a military helicopter arranged. No photos from the field as yet as internet is down. That will take time. Today we have moved from emergency response to a more thorough plan to save lives.
Please keep the donations coming. We have a long way to go before we can secure the safety of those at risk, even in the immediate target region. We are ALL volunteers, as with all things Dolma, to ensure that every penny you donate goes directly to those that need it.”
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“Please keep the donations coming. We have a long way to go before we can secure the safety of those at risk, even in the immediate target region.”
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/nepalquake
