Suman’s Story – Aid for Nepal

PLEASE USE THIS LINK https://www.gofundme.com/2m9exbmk
FOR OUR NEW CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT SUMAN'S VILLAGE HEALTH INITIATIVE.

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The road to Sindhupalchowk is 3-5 hours driving time from Kathmandu. How long it takes depends on how many landslides there have been each night. The road is bad, but the village is accessible with small trucks. However, aid from major NGOs, the UN and the Nepalese government is not reaching the village despite repeated requests.

After Suman contacted Melati from Bye Bye Plastic Bags in Indonesia in a distressed state, members quickly raised $10,000. A team of volunteers including a trained health professional then flew to Nepal with aid. They paid all their own expenses. Working with Suman and his friends, trucks were leased and food and medicine was purchased. But the monsoon season starts soon and the 586 families of Sindhupalchowk have little shelter and only enough food for the next two weeks.

We have another team of volunteers ready to fly out at their own expense. Now the Rotary Club of Canggu Bali and its affiliate Bye Bye Plastic Bags would like to raise enough money to buy proper shelter and enough food so the families of Sindhupalchowk can survive the coming monsoon. This will cost at least USD$50,000.

Unlike many other charities, we have no overheads so any money donated will go direct to the village with full oversight.

We hope you can help.

Michael King/Bye Bye Plastic Bags/Canggu Rotary

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This is Suman’s story. His village is urgently in need of food and shelter after it was devastated by the huge 7.8 Richter Scale earthquake that has left Nepal in a perilous state ahead of the coming monsoon season. Hundreds of thousands of people have no homes or access to regular food supplies. With help from Bali Rotary and Bye Bye Plastic, Suman has taken it upon himself to feed his entire village. He has rented his own trucks and bought his own supplies. But he is worried about what happens when the money runs out. If you would like to help him please follow the link at the bottom.

“I’m Suman Khadka from Palchok-4, Sindhupalchowk. I am 19 years old.

On Saturday the 25th April I was in Palchok waiting for a bus with two friends so we could go to Kathmandu. It was about lunch time and I was feeling hungry.

Suddenly the ground started shaking. It was a strange sensation at first but then we started to get really scared. We froze still. Within about 10 or 15 seconds – we lost track of time - all the houses next to us started to shake. And then many just collapsed straight down. The noise was horrible. People ran out of the houses that were still standing. Lots of people were crying.

Many had relatives in houses that had just disappeared. People were shouting, “Oh my god, my daughter is in that house, help me” and, “Please come, save my grandmother”. Underneath the houses that had collapsed, we could hear shouting and screaming. And then we couldn’t see anything because the air was so full of dust.

The earthquake stopped after about two minutes.  Me and my friends started trying to help people stuck in houses. We tried to save a friend’s grandmother in a nearby house. But we couldn’t dig all the stones out. We couldn’t get close to her because the house was moving. We couldn’t reach her and she died.

I tried to contact my home but there was no mobile network. I was scared and worried about what had happened to my parents. So me and my friends started running back. On the way people were pulling out dead bodies. There was lots of screaming. We saw a mother with her daughter being carried out of one house. They were dead. The baby was only 11 days old.

The way back was blocked by landslides so we had to find another path. Then the network came back on and I called my father. He told me to stay where I was. They were safe in a field where they had been working with the buffaloes. But my mother was very frightened. I could hear her sobbing.

Then more earthquakes started. They felt the same as the first one. It was hard to stand up. All the people gathered together in an open space.

After the shaking had stopped, we ran to my house. Most of the houses around it had disappeared and were now just rubble. Our house was still standing but we couldn’t go in. It was cracked all over. But we were lucky. When I saw my parents – well, I’ve never been so happy! But it was hard. So many of our friends had lost their homes and relatives. We were relieved to be alive but so sad for them.

We couldn’t go into any of the houses. We use a big tent to dry rice in our village so that night we all slept under that. We didn’t eat anything for 24 hours. The next day we tried to find what we could in the houses still standing. But it was dangerous and some people got badly hurt trying to find food, clothes and water.

My father bought a tarpaulin off a bus driver and for the next two nights we all slept under that and the rice tent. There were lots of people injured and the roads to Kathmandu were closed by landslides. We were scared. We just stayed in the tent and prayed.

One man was there who had been visiting our village on the day of the earthquake. He was just 20 years old. He had lost his arm at the shoulder and was in a lot of pain. We tried to help him and others. But with no medicine, we couldn’t do much except clean the wounds.

Then on Sunday a helicopter arrived. We all cheered. We thought it had come to help and take the injured. But the helicopter had been hired by the boss of our visitor with no arm. It took him but refused to take anyone else. I don’t know if the man lived.

After three days, the road was opened. I went to Kathmandu and started trying to find ways to help my village. That’s when I got in touch with Bye Bye Plastic and Bali Rotary. With their help we have hired trucks and bought food to feed the village. But none of the houses left are safe to go inside. When the monsoon season comes it will be very cold and wet. We need more food and tents. And we need building materials.

If you can help in any way at all, my whole village will be very grateful.”

Suman told his story to Michael King