People in Need has started to work in the Gorkha region in Nepal. Local people need tarpaulins for temporary shelters
Published: Apr 30, 2015 Reading time: 3 minutes
(Gorkha, April 30th, 2015) – People in Need’s team with local volunteers has started to work in the Gorkha region near by the epicenter of the earthquake. We have assisted the local authorities with aid coordination and data collection. We have also assisted with distribution of first humanitarian aid that arrived into the area. Volunteer medics provided first aid for the wounded. We are purchasing the most required items and arranging the logistics and transportation from Kathmandu to Gorkha.
“People especially need food and tarpaulins for temporary shelters. Just in this area, more than 50 000 will be needed,” says Sudip Joshi, our humanitarian coordinator in Gorkha. “Another problem are the decomposing dead animal, which are potential source of diseases,” adds Sudip Joshi.
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It will be very hard to get the aid to the remote villages, which are accessible only by motorbike or on foot. “Our volunteers went to Bungkot, Taple, Singla and Dhawa, today they will visit at least another ten villages,” explains Joshi. However, the damage and needs of population are different in each village, so the aid cannot be distributed on universal basis. “In some villages, 80-90% of houses were destroyed. In other places, the extent of damage is not that big,” explains People in Need’s coordinator in Nepal Denisa Bultasova.
According to the UN, more than 70 000 houses were destroyed and another 530 000 damaged in Nepal. More than 2,8 million people became homeless, 3,5 million need food aid and the earthquake has affected more than 8 million people in general. The number of victims is also rising every day – according to the UN, there is more than 5500 dead and 10 000 wounded. Emergency operations are complicated by ongoing rains, landslides and tremors.
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“The ground has been shaking three times in the last hour alone. We sleep outside under tarpaulins,” Sudip Joshi describes the situation. We will focus on building of temporary shelters in the next few days. “We want to deliver tarpaulin for temporary shelters as soon as possible. Water purification tablets are also important, together with food rations,” says Marek Stys, director of humanitarian programmes of People in Need. We have dispatched experienced emergency team to Nepal, and we cooperate with dozens of local volunteers. “Apart from situation assessment, they deal with logistics, which is the most pressing issue right now. It is impossible to buy the required amount of aid in Nepal and the airport in Kathmandu is overwhelmed. We are trying to secure transport from the neighboring countries. Our activities are closely coordinated with our partners from the Alliance2015 platform,” adds Marek Stys.
The public appeal SOS NEPAL has already raised more than 13 million CZK.
For more information, please contact:
Marek Stys, director of humanitarian programmes of People in Need
tel. +420 777 053 522, mail: marek.stys@peopleinneed.cz
Simon Panek, director of People in Need
tel. +420 777 787 913, mail: simon.panek@clovekvtisni.cz
Petr Štefan, media coordinator of People in Need
tel. +420 608 817 95,8 mail: petr.stefan@clovekvtisni.cz