July 2015 | first trip
Despite good preparations, we embarked on this journey with mixed feelings, because we didn't know what to expect.
- What will the conditions be like on site?
- Will we be able to enter the country easily with the goods we brought with us (medicines, seeds, Clothes , lamps and mosquito nets)?
- Will the currency exchange be possible without major problems?
- How do we get the materials we've brought with us, and especially the materials we still need to get, into the village?
Many questions remain, but everything should work out wonderfully.
It's starting!
At check-in at Zurich Airport, we were able to check in our six pieces of luggage without any problems. The permitted 60kg was exactly reached during the weighing process, in our favor; even our hand luggage, each weighing over 7kg, was accepted. The first hurdle was cleared, and our nervousness subsided somewhat. Fourteen hours later, we set foot on Nepalese soil. All our luggage was on the conveyor belt, and we left the airport with a sense of relief. Our friend Narayan was already waving to us and hung flower garlands around our necks as a welcome gift. During the taxi ride to the hotel, the first signs of collapsed buildings came into view, but it was also clear that everyday life had already returned.
The media's reporting of a destroyed Kathmandu is not entirely accurate, as this deters tourists, even though there is hardly any difference in quality of life compared to before.
The first few days in Kathmandu are dedicated to organizing. Our friend Narayan is on the phone a lot, and we sit beside him, drinking tea and making decisions.
We need to exchange the Swiss francs (14,000 CHF) for Nepalese rupees. A currency exchange offers us a good exchange rate. After only a 10-minute wait, we receive an enormous stack of banknotes, enough to fill an entire daypack.
Step two is to increase the supplies we've brought with us so that all 32 families in Bhumesthan receive a lamp and a mosquito net—it should be fair, after all. We buy 22 headlamps with extra batteries and order 11 Nepalese mosquito nets from the local market.
We want to bring food for a section of Phulkarkas inhabited by an ethnic minority—the Gurungs. Narayan orders the food by phone and has it delivered directly to the village.
Adventurous journey
Our journey to the village begins with a taxi ride to Dhading Besi, the district capital of the region. After a good three hours, we reach the small town, situated at approximately 700 meters above sea level. We had planned to travel to the village by jeep the next day, but the driver cancels at short notice without explanation. So we have to find another option. Fortunately, the food we ordered is already in Dhading Besi and will be delivered to the village the following day by a 4WD truck. The driver agrees to take us along as well – for an extra fee. We were lucky, because a 35km hike in about 32°C and 90% humidity would have been very strenuous. We are allowed to ride in the truck's cab; other passengers have to sit in the back.
The journey starts on a partially paved road – but the road conditions deteriorate steadily with each passing hour. The truck has to navigate ditches that are knee-deep and filled with water. But for the experienced driver, this poses no obstacle. We now understand why the Jeep driver canceled on us – getting through here with small wheels is impossible. The truck struggles through the mud up the mountain – impassable sections are simply made passable somehow. After a detour – another truck is blocking the road – and a repair to our truck – a broken spring – we reach Bhumesthan after about 12 hours of bumpy driving.
Luckily, it only started raining in the late afternoon – otherwise, it would have been very difficult to reach our destination.
A warm welcome awaits us, and we settle into our camp, which has been specially built for us onto one of the temporary corrugated iron huts. To be honest, we almost would have preferred to sleep in a tent on our comfortable mats rather than on this hard plank ;-)
The next morning, we begin our tasks and first distribute the food we brought to the Gunrung families. Everyone has gathered at the Bhumesthan village meeting place and is called up individually from a list. The food package contains a 25kg sack of rice, 2kg of lentils, 1L of cooking oil, and 1kg of salt. Mostly women gratefully accept the food and carry it up the mountain to their homes for about an hour. An old woman thanks us profusely, embraces us, and gives us a wet kiss on the cheek. Unfortunately, we don't understand her words—but you can feel her gratitude nonetheless!
We realize that with this small help we have brought people a lot of hope and confidence that things will move forward again.
In the evening, the "construction committee" met to develop a reconstruction strategy. After their deliberations, they presented their findings to us. They intend to abandon their traditional building methods and instead construct earthquake-resistant houses—or at least, that's the direction they want to take. We very much welcome this decision. With our support, it will certainly be possible to lay a solid foundation for at least the 32 houses. To achieve this, cement, sand, and reinforcing steel need to be purchased. This will provide each house with a solid foundation and four or six pillars for each story. The walls between the pillars will then be rebuilt in the existing style using local stone. Bricks are unavailable, as almost all brick-making facilities in Nepal were destroyed in the earthquake. The roofs can be constructed of wood and covered with corrugated iron.The work is carried out by the villagers themselves - except at the beginning when specialists must be hired to impart the know-how.
The estimated cost is around 230,000 rupees. We are optimistic and promise to do our best to raise further donations.
It would of course be nice to be able to contribute more money so that the stones in the walls could also be fixed with cement.
Our project is therefore concluded for the time being. Construction will begin in October 2015, as soon as the monsoon season is over, because the heavy loads can only be transported to the site via a dry road. Our goal is for all 32 houses to have foundations before the next monsoon in June 2016. An ambitious goal – the residents will also have to cultivate their fields alongside the construction work.to be continued…
We then spent a few quiet days in Kathmandu, allowing us to let the many experiences sink in.It was once again a very nice time in Nepal, despite the many sad stories we heard and saw.
The first part of our project has been successfully completed.
After four days in Bhumesthan and with a good feeling about it, we're leaving again. We were touched by how many villagers came to say goodbye. They're very happy that we plan to return in the fall.
All our initial concerns have been swept away, as everything went extremely smoothly. Narayan provided us with tremendous support. Without his help and that of his brother, this would never have been possible. We believe we were able to use the donated funds very effectively and efficiently.
