Trip to Dhading and our experience

We reached Dhading around 1p.m. yesterday and spent most of the afternoon talking to the officials of Nepal Police, Nepal Army, C.D.O. and other locals. We had planned to reach Kimtang Besi to hand over the materials, collected from FNCCI & purchased with the donations from a dear friend, Susie Hutchison, my sister Eliza Shrestha and the company she works for in Australia, Schneider Electric.  The road to Kimtang Fedi had been destroyed by the landslide; however, all of us were hopeful that the road would be cleared by this morning which didn’t happen. So, we had to drop the idea of reaching Kimtang Fedi and handing over the goods to the victims directly.

It is sad that despite our efforts we couldn’t meet the people affected in Kimtang Fedi. Nonetheless, something positive came out of this trip. I am writing this long post to share my team’s experience at Dhading.

So here’s what I think about the relief distribution process at Dhading.

1. The Challenges: While we were at the helipaid, there must have landed some 5 -7 helicopters. Most of these helicopters were small which means it had the capacity of 300- 500kgs.   The big Indian Helicopter had a larger capacity but it couldn’t land in the high terrains, according to an official present there, which meant it couldn’t land in many districts which were hard hit by the disaster.

Most of the roads have been destroyed by incessant rain and landslide. We were told that efforts were being made to clear the roads for bigger vehicles to reach the affected areas but the situation was still very precarious.

The difficult terrains and weather can’t be taken as an excuse in the delay of distribution of relief materials. But the reality is that our high terrains and unseasonal, untimely rain is causing a major hindrance in this whole distribution process.

2. Working with the authorities: We had been warned of government’s one window policy and also of how the locals might “loot and paat” the goods. We made it a point that we coordinated well in advance with the authorities there which eased the whole process to a great extent.

So here’s how it works. Every individual or organization willing to distribute relief materials are expected to inform the CDO and register the goods along with its exact quantity so that the CDO knows what has reached where and what they need to send, where. The registration process takes around 5- 10 minutes. Once registered, the individual/ organization is given a “bharpai’ and then anyone can easily distribute the relief materials in coordination with local representatives and VDC Secretaries. In our case, since we couldn’t reach our intended destination, we handed over the materials to the VDC Secretary who will soon dispatch them to Kimtang Fedi.

I guess it kind of makes sense that the local government agencies be informed of what’s happening in the ground. This will make the whole process more smooth and organized.

3. Need of the moment: Yes, its tents. One of the basic needs of a human being is shelter. People affected by the disaster need tents the most, at least in Dhading. Second in the list is chamal. From what we were told, people have access to water and apart from tents and rice grains, what they really need is medical help. We spent some time at the district hospital where we found out that the emergency cases in the hospital were being handled by the volunteers from a hospital in UP, India. They are most likely to return this Sunday leading to major human resource shortage in the district hospital in Dhading.

We were advised not to send biscuits and noodles since these items occupy a lot of space in transport but it doesn’t really help in feeding the affected people for a long period of time. While a kg of rice can feed a family of four, a packet of noodles or biscuits can only be used to feed a person once.

4. Being positive: Lately, we have heard many negative comments and criticisms of all sorts pertaining to the incompetency of our government which is rather sad. During my stay in Dhading, I was taken aback to witness the efforts being put up Nepal Police, Nepal Army, CDO and government officials, everyone for that matter. These times are hard. Our system has loopholes and many weaknesses. There is a lot to be revised, reconsidered in our policies. This chaos could have been minimized or avoided if the government had been able to convey the information better.

For sure, we are not doing our best but that shouldn’t stop us from doing what we are. This isn’t the time to criticize. This is the time to collaborate and cooperate and try to reduce further damages.

Although our trip to Dhading didn’t go as expected, we are optimistic. We’ll just keep doing what needs to be done.

Stay Positive and Continue Helping!

At the helipad

Interacting with the Inspector OP Wagle and Darkha VDC Secretary Sitaram Ghimire

Handing over water bottles and medical supplies at the Dsitrict Hospital

Police Officer helping the team unload the goods

Bharpai

Hope

Note:  This is a part of For Education Foundation initiative to help the people affected by earthquake in Nepal. Anyone willing to help can donate in the given account.
Account Title: FOR EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Account Number: 04001030254199
Bank Name: Nepal Investment Bank Limited- Lagankhel Branch
Account Type: Current Account
Swift Code: NIBLNPKT