Nepal Earthquake Relief Effort April 2015 –NRNA-ICC
NRNA is responding to the needs of thousands of affected countrymen especially the most vulnerable
On April 25, 2015, around 11:55am on Saturday an unprecedented natural calamity of a
powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Barpak village, Gorkha district was
the epicentre but it covered around 35 districts. The devastation is beyond
comprehension and the pain and suffering our country and countrymen are going through
is heart wrenching. The earthquake left us with the saddest feelings of our life. It made
thousands of our countrymen homeless and losing their sense of security and source of
living.
The Impact
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Districts >35
Villages effected >1500
House destroyed >160,000
Death toll~10,000
Aftershocks over 200
(*information extracted from various sources)
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’
Earthquake Disaster Relief Plan
Overview
An Earthquake Disaster Relief Team was formed in the aftermath of the earthquake
disaster on 28th April, and following the NRNA-ICC’s 26th April NRNA-ICC’s meeting.
The aim of the team was to evaluate and assess the extent of damage from the
earthquake and to develop a humanitarian relief plan to assist our countrymen and
country in this time of emergency. It was done with the realisation that natural disasters
of this scale can be difficult to manage even in a developed nation, let alone in Nepal
which even without this calamity severely lacks adequate infrastructure and resources.
The team based its assessment on the Severity Index available through UN and
government of Nepal on homes and livelihoods lost and medical requirements developing
a relief plan which covered immediate humanitarian assistance.
NRNA is a voluntary organisation who has over 70 chapters around the world and
represents more than 3 million Nepali diaspora. Its main aim is to promote and attract
social and economic development of Nepal with its slogan being ‘For Nepali by Nepali’.
As it is a voluntary organisation it lacks adequate resources and capabilities to cope with
a disaster on such a scale as the earthquake. Furthermore, this was the first ever
project such as this that NRNA has committed to and it lacked adequate knowledge and
funding to manage such a natural calamity. Therefore, it has been challenging to
conceptualise a plan to address the most important concerns arising from the aftermath
of the earthquake. However, as great that these limitations were, the extent of our
feelings and compassion to lessen the pain and sufferings of our countrymen made it
possible to respond quickly and successfully to the relief effort
Our Response
NRNA worked very closely with the government of Nepal from federal to local level and
including VDCs to ensure the aid reached the neediest and to prevent any duplication
with other NGOs, INGOs and the Government relief works. The distribution of relief
supplies has been, and will be, carried out by mobilising NRNs and local volunteers to
ensure no overhead or administrative costs incurred so that every dollar donated goes
directly to the neediest.
Targeted locations – Gorkha, Lamjung, Sindhupalchok, Kavre, Nuwakot, Rasuwa,
Ramechap and Dhading. These are some of the districts selected by the government of
Nepal as the most impacted by the earthquake. Within these, NRNA chose several
villages identified as ‘Ka’ level indicating the highest level of severity of damages in
terms of household and livelihood lost.
Targeted beneficiaries – 10,000 households needing the most relief in remote areas.
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’
NRNA Relief priorities – first phase
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Temporary Shelter ie, tents/tarpaulin – one per family
Food – dry food – adequate for one week
Blankets – 2 per family
Medical camps where required
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’
What we have distributed
The strongest earthquake in 80 years to hit Nepal triggered a global emergency and NRNA
moved quickly to help the survivors. According to the United Nation’s latest estimates it
affected eight million people and more than one million children’s’ lives are hanging in the
balance.
NRNA has also been working closely with the Government of Nepal in the assessing of the
needs of survivors.
There has been massive destruction of roads and trails as the tremor sparked landslides
closing often the only access to the remote areas -This made relief work almost impossible in
some areas.
However, the greater challenge was to distribute relief supplies, in just over a week after
the earthquake NRNA has distributed 14,000 tarpaulin for temporary shelter in 12 districts,
10 tons of beaten rice, over 100 tons of rice, 20,000 blankets, 171,000 packet noodles to
more than 12,000 families and assisted the treatment of over 10,000 people in 10 different
medical camps.
The earthquake caused widespread damages and destroyed 160,000 homes, and partially
destroyed another 154,884 homes. According to the UN, roughly 2.8 million Nepalese people
have been displaced. As the full extent of this enormous tragedy emerges, every minute of
delay in giving assistance counts.
The monsoon season is just few weeks away as we are concluding our immediate relief
effort. Therefore we will roll over shortly to our second phase of relief work with a plan to
build homes for the most vulnerable families who are affected by the earthquake.
Currently, we are discussing with the Government of Nepal to identify the affected areas or
villages which are safer for resettlement. The fear is many areas left by the aftermath can
have avalanches and be washed away by the monsoonal rain.
NRNA has allocated Rs.35, 000, 0000 or US$3.5million to reconstruct 1000 homes. This is the
largest NRNA’s humanitarian program since it was established over a decade ago. However,
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’
this unprecedented catastrophe requires immediate action to save lives and help those who
are suffering.
We are very grateful for the support of everyone who donated money, goods, worked as
volunteers and prayed for Nepal. Before we conclude I would like to acknowledge some
organisation and individuals who helped us on this effort:
We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the Government of Nepal
particularly the Prime Minister who has been cooperative and supportive on our relief effort
and giving their access including air force.
We cannot express our gratitude enough to the Nepal Army Air Force and their entire team
for their availability as we required. Without their support we would not have been able to
distribute relief supplies in the remotest part of the earthquake affected zones.
Similarly, Nepal Police force and Nepal Army Infantry who helped us on guarding our
volunteers day and night during the distribution process.
Our appreciation and thanks goes to two individuals Dr. Ganesh Gurung and Ratan Ayer who
helped us initiating contacts and strategic negotiations with the government of Nepal on
behalf of NRNA. Without them it would not have been possible.
TBI group have been very kind providing their office and staff to us at this time of need. We
would like to thank their entire team for their generosity and supports.
We would also like to thank Suresh Chitrakar from MIT Group Foundation who helped us on
ground level and looking after procurement of the relief supplies and overall operational
matters day and night till today.
Above all, particular thanks goes to the all NRN and Nepali team volunteers who joined us
from the day one at the ground zero and those district coordinators (volunteers) without
your support and hard work from planning to distribution level of the relief work this would
not have been possible.
In fact, we exceeded our initial target and we thank you all for helping us to achieve this
success.
As we move forward to rebuild our nation, we see ‘hope’ of a better tomorrow and we trust
you will continue your support on this second phase of our commitment to our
motherland. To donate please see http://nrna.org.np/article-NRNA_disaster_support.
Just as we were wrapping up the first phase of Relief work and rolling out second phase of
relief, our country has been gripped by yet another powerful earthquake with 7.3 Richter
scale. This was firsthand experience for most of us (NRNA) volunteers. It was scary as
mother Earth swung and we felt so helpless.
We cannot imagine the disaster this may have caused particularly loss of loved ones. We
pray the almighty to give eternal peace to the departed soul and give their family the
strength and courage to cope with this incredible loss. We urge all those who lost their
homes and livelihood to be strong and hopeful for better tomorrow.
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’
As things are still fluid, we wait for full information to come through the damages
yesterday’s earthquake may have caused. We are currently reviewing our relief work due to
this which may need to recommence. We will update all soon as things become clearer.
For further information on our work click www.nrna.org.np.
‘Together We Can’
Shesh Ghale - President, NRNA-ICC
NRNA-ICC (Non Resident Nepali Association – International Coordination Council)
‘For Nepali by Nepali’