From a Nepalese Volunteer to a Czech-Based Mountain Guide: Suman Recalls the Aftermath of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake

Where were you when the earthquake hit Nepal 10 years ago?

When the first earthquake hit, I was at home. It was Saturday, around lunchtime. I was just doing some planning regarding my travel business, I was writing in my journal, and then everything shook. My whole family was out, my younger sister and my parents. When the tremors started, I rushed to hide under the table for some time. But then I felt like the house was going to crack into two. Fortunately, my father built a solid house, so nothing serious happened. After the first big quake, I ran out of the house. Everybody was screaming. The first thing I did was to call my family in order to find out if they were safe.

So, the earthquake hit you unprepared.

Not really, we were kind of always prepared because my father said that there was going to be a big earthquake at some point. There has been a record of big earthquakes which affect Nepal every 70-75 years. We had experienced smaller earthquakes before and had our earthquake kit prepared. However, for the majority of people the scale of this earthquake was unexpected.

How did the city look right after the earthquake?

I decided to take a bike and go to see the city. You cannot imagine the chaos that was everywhere. Everybody was on the streets, everybody was trying to find out what happened, fallen houses and temples everywhere. Still, I have to say that we were lucky because the tragedy happened on Saturday, when everything is closed. If people were in shops, schools, the casualties would be even bigger.

You started to help affected people right after the earthquake. What did you do? Did you also coordinate with other people?

Yes, I just couldn’t stay at one place when people were suffering. We gathered with a group of my friends, and on the first day, right after the earthquake, we went out to help people. We were building and organising tents for those who lost their homes and were staying in camps. We helped the police to clearing debris of fallen houses and wherever the help was needed, my friends were digging out dead bodies out of the rubble.

And then you started to work together with People in Need. How did that happen?

I wanted to help in the district of Gorkha, which I call my home, and which was severely affected. At first, we did not know how and where to start, but then I found out my friend knew a colleague from People in Need who had just come to Nepal to help. He was looking for people who wanted to volunteer. So, we connected, and the third day after the earthquake, I was together with 12 other people on the way to the area.

How did you get there? Did you face some complications along the way, as there was a lot of chaos and everything was broken?

Yes, the journey, which would normally take us five hours, ended up taking 10 hours. The highway was total chaos with people running away from Kathmandu at the same time that people with relief materials were trying to coming in. When we got to the place, it was already midnight, all the hotels were broken, and people were sleeping outside. We put up our tents in front of the hotel for few days and camped. But then the second strong earthquake happened, and parts of the hotel started to fall down. After that, we looked for a safe house moved to a safer place and started the humanitarian operations

You went to help save other people’s lives and nearly lost yours.

Yes, but at that time, we did not realise it. And I think that this was the case of many young people, everybody wanted to support and help in any way possible and as much as possible. Also, the energy in the team of volunteers was amazing. We were ready to take risks and do what needed to be done.

What work did you do as volunteers within PIN?

In the beginning, we were distributing everything that was needed, from blankets to building materials so that people could build roofs or at least make a temporary tent that we received from people. Then I started to help as a logistics assistant. I would go to the field and buy things that were needed. This was a difficult task, because those items were scarce because everyone needed them. We were also managing vehicles, tractors, helicopters, which were distributing the material. After that I joined People in Need as an employee for a few months and then a little later I joined People in Need Nepal again to support different project in logistics.

And now a few years later you are in Prague, you have a Czech partner, a kid, you’re learning Czech. How did that happen?

My partner was working for People in Need when we first met as colleagues. Then I decided to start my own business – I founded a travel company which focuses on mountain tourism in Nepal. My partner heard about my company and decided to go for a trek. That’s how we met. Then, when COVID happened, my business had to stop for a while, and we decided that it would be better if I moved to Prague for the time being.

Do you miss Nepal? Do you come back often?

Actually, it was not my intention to go and live abroad. I studied in India and Thailand, and I thought that that was enough, but here I am. I go to Nepal twice a year now, during the trekking season. Good weather for trekking is during the autumn and spring. I’m going back to Nepal next at the end of April with Czech trekkers.

It’s a nice journey – from a humanitarian worker to a mountain guide.

Yeah, both of them connect my love for mountains, as I was working in the mountain areas also with PIN. As for my business, I want to do these excursions differently from others. As I see the cultural differences between Europe and Nepal, I want to show my guests how Nepalese people perceive life and teach them to focus on small things and enjoy little things in life which often times people in west struggle with. So if you want to go to Nepal for a trip, remember me!