Nepal: Humanitarian Crises That Are Worse Than Earthquakes

When the fuel shortage earlier was at its worst, the vehicles in capital city Kathmandu all had to wait in long queues for petrol. (Photo source: website of The Himalayan Times)

(Translated by Elaine Ng, proof-read and edited by Mitch Silver)

The current fuel shortage in Nepal has significantly worsened the humanitarian crisis there. In addition to the extremely high prices as well as the shortage of fuel for transport and cooking, there is a critical medical drug shortage and ambulances are unable to operate normally.

The 7.8-magnitude huge earthquake that occurred in Nepal on 25 April this year attracted the coverage and attention of the world’s media. Although no longer in the news, Nepal is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. The fuel shortage has resulted in reconstruction works stopping; materials are not being sent to destroyed villages where villagers are still freezing in tents during this exceptionally cold winter; hospitals and clinics lack medical resources. Even ordinary citizens have to collect twigs and sticks for cooking, and walk long distances to go to work and to school due to lack of transport.

I have been following the reports these months, and have been making observations personally in Nepal and discussing with the local people. Let me make a brief account.

On 20 September 2015, Nepal passed a new constitution. It received strong opposition from India as well as the residents of the southern Terai region of Nepal. The new constitution controversially divided the country into 7 provinces leaving the Terai residents as well as India unhappy with the new level of autonomy. Months of political unrest in Tarai obstructed oil tankers from India and the transport of food and medicine. India was alleged by the Nepalese government to have unofficially blocked the border (but denied by India), causing the serious fuel shortage.

For the past few months, the Nepalese people have been protesting against border blockade imposed unofficially by India. (Photo source: website of The Indian Express)

At its peak, some 40 civilians and policemen died during the political unrest. Nepal was in turmoil for over a week, without any fuel, food or drugs. The situation eased up a bit, but shortages and prices continue to wreak havoc on day to day life as well as Nepal’s economy.  China has promised assistance with fuel coming via the Tibet border, but the black market is still the primary source of fuel.

I thought that traffic in Kathmandu would have dropped substantially, and that there would be less air pollution. Yet there are still many vehicles on the road, and the air remains dusty. Taxi drivers use fuel shortage as an excuse to charge high fares.

I said to my local friend – it does not seem too bad judging from how the city looks like. My friend replied, “Of course – for the rich (and for the tourists), things still work although they are a lot more expensive. But think about the poor who cannot afford the prices – no gas for cooking, no money to take the taxi, and they may not even be able to find room squeeze to a bus roof. As for those in the mountainous areas who have to stay in tents due to the destruction of their houses during the earthquake, they have to collect branches for cooking and for keeping warm.” And among Nepal’s population of 28 million, 42% are below the poverty line, meaning earning less than USD2 every day.

Now whenever I take the taxi, the fare is double or more compared to before. So my local friends and I often walk – one morning, we set out at around 5am and took one hour to walk to the bus station. As I walked, the streets were full of locals who were walking or cycling to go to work or to school. It is not impossible to take the bus, but I am not sure if I will be able to tuck myself on the bus roof.

Public transport packed with passengers is commonly seen in the streets of Kathmandu.

The capital city of Kathmandu and second largest city Pokhara still appear peaceful and prosperous. You would not think that Nepal is facing such a serious situation, as visitors still have access to transportation, can still get food in restaurants and still have hot showers in hotels. They do not realize that if the coaches did not get black market fuel, it would take a few days’ queuing to refill petrol; the entire country basically does not have gas for cooking, and while some restaurants may be able to buy small amounts of gas at extremely high prices, many residents are using twigs for cooking; although some high-end hotels are being able to get gas for hot water, most guesthouses rely on solar power to get hot water for showers. If visitors were not sick or admitted to the hospital, they would not know that hospitals do not have enough oxygen for patients nor enough anaesthetics for surgery.

Nepal Red Cross Society has indicated that the 100 local blood centres seriously lack blood bags.

UNICEF also warned last month that there would be a new humanitarian crises in Nepal.

I enquired with Anjani Kumar, president of the Nepal Medical Association, about the drug shortage situation. He noted, “92 types of basic drugs (including emergency drugs) that are currently used by government hospitals and given away free to patients are in shortage. Some of them may last for 3 months, but some will be used up in a month.” He said that the government was trying different means to acquire drugs, but if this could not be done within 3 months, the plight is not optimistic.

A restaurant in Pokhara looking busy in the evening.

In fact, most restaurants use twigs to cook outdoors.

Even those who can afford to buy gasoline for cooking have to queue for a long time.

Amrit, president of Pokhara children’s home Edventure Nepal, was also concerned, “If it were just me, the problems of fuel shortage are still bearable; but I have 12 children in need of care here, and twigs are not as easily obtainable as you imagine. If any of the children gets ill, I can’t be sure if the hospitals can provide the necessary drugs.”

Edventure Nepal children’s home set up a stove outdoors for cooking.

Nepal typically undergoes power cut for 8 to 12 hours each day. Electricity mainly comes from hydropower. When there is a power cut, most organizations including hospitals generate electricity using back-up generators fuelled by diesel or petrol. Operating rooms, surgical instruments and emergency equipment require electricity, and infant incubators also need electricity to keep premature babies warm. Many hospitals have low fuel storage. If not supplemented in time, most can only last for about 50 hours. It is easy to imagine the certain lethal disaster that will occur if all power is lost when important surgeries are being done.

The coach I took from Kathmandu to Pokhara could not escape from the long queue for petrol.

Armed forces on duty in petrol stations.

A friend observed that instant noodles became harder to get. I asked why. My friend said, “Without electricity and fuel to power them, factories cannot manufacture.” I have forgotten how much modern industry relies on fuel. It can be imagined that many food supplies will be exhausted (if it continues to be difficult to import food).

I thought that the problems could be solved by the entering into agreement between Nepal and China, and the proposed setting up of 7 border points. But on a quick research, I discover that the border points between China and Nepal are all above 2000m (the highest at 6495m). A friend added, “When winter comes, those border points will be closed for 6 months due to heavy snow.” The reality is that currently there is only one open border crossing between Nepal and China, The importation is severely limited by physical and practical constraints of the border situation as well as political failings.

The current situation in Nepal is far from positive. While local reports say that Nepalese officials are negotiating in India, no consensus has been reached yet.

I hope to be able to make more reports here to let people know about the present dire circumstances in Nepal. If you care about Nepal and hope to prevent the humanitarian crisis, I urge you to spread the message so that there may be more international aid.

前往Detox瑜伽靜心營路線

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(一出碼頭右轉直行約150米會見到呢個轉彎位,轉入去)

（見到來姐地產，直行）

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(見到勵進地產字眼的一修窄巷，左轉入去）

（直到見到中電站轉角位轉左上山）

(繼續直上)

(見到分叉口,行左面)


(沿住大球場行)


(沿住長洲體育路行)


(落斜後會見到左面有這條路)


(見到呢堆牌, 轉右)

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(到達鮑思高青年中心)

The Happiest Country

The innocent smiles of the Nepalese people most touch my heart

(Translated by Elaine Ng.  Proof-read and edited by Mitch Silver.)

I remember having seen a documentary in which a Nepalese said these words – which still rings in my ears - “Although Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, I am sure we are one of the happiest.”

My experiences as a volunteer in Nepal these years confirmed those words. Every time I walked on the streets, the Nepalese people, whether old or young, would smile to me beautifully; sometimes putting their palms together in front of their heart, greeting me with “Namaste!”.

I ran into some Nepalese people on my way, and they would enthusiastically let me take pictures of them.

Even after the earthquake disaster, they are able to laugh away the troubles – such an attitude makes a strong impression on me. This is not to say that they did not feel sad or did not cry after the earthquake; nor that they were not stressed or fearful when they had to sleep in the tents during the days of aftershocks. However, I often feel they have a natural tendency to see beyond life and death – which may be due to the fact that poverty and illness easily take away lives there.

When we were on our way to Gorkha 4 days ago, there were people carrying the deceased to a funeral. There were many onlookers, and Amrit of the children’s home explained, “It is good fortune in our tradition to come across a scene like this. Our journey today will be blessed.” A traditional believe like this is incredible – usually when we come across a funeral or a coffin, we would try to run away. Yet to the Nepalese, they would get together to watch to receive good luck. I believe this is probably one of the reasons why the Nepalese people are happy-go-lucky.

The Nepalese people are always able to laugh away any situations.

Four days ago we went to Gorkha to inspect several schools that had been destroyed. I was deeply moved by the villager’s strength of character. The first school we observed was Shree Sharada Secondary School (being the only secondary school in the Khoplang area in Gorkha), with 407 students and 15 teachers. 31 May was the first day of school after the earthquake. The two buildings of the school were destroyed by the two earthquakes. Although one building remained, it had been assessed as too dangerous for classroom use by engineers, so the students were attending classes in the temporary shelter.

The campus of Sree Sharada Secondary School was destroyed in the earthquake.

When we arrived, we realized that even the temporary classrooms were not ready, and several hundred students were having classes under the trees. At first, this natural “classroom” looked beautiful, with boulders as chairs and leaves as roof. However, we could not imagine the insects, the heat and the downpours once the rainy season began. 

Temporary shelters still being built.

Students having classes under the trees.

These Grade 9 big boys had to sit on the same boulder for class.

I felt strong admiration for the teachers and the students who did not complain but remained cheerful, understanding that it was a temporary solution.

Amrit and the teachers discussing about the temporary classroom.

No desks; books in laps

Next, we went to inspect the only higher secondary school in the Khoplang area. It, being a mountainous area, this school with 750 students was located at least one and a half hours walk from the main road. We were lucky enough to have the local volunteers arrange motorbikes for us. When I saw the steep and muddy paths, I could easily visualize the students having to walk the difficult route on a daily basis.

This school had six buildings, two of which were completely destroyed, one was half damaged, and the other three were assessed as dangerous buildings. Fortunately, the school had already built some temporary shelters using tin sheets for the roof and bamboo for the walls.

One of the completely destroyed school buildings in Annapurna higher secondary school.

The local engineer explained the advantages of using bamboo to build the shelters. He recommended that we also use bamboo as the main material for reconstruction.

Even though the administration building of Annapurna secondary school did not collapse, it was quite heavily scarred.

The last school we inspected was Esthanika primary school. It was smaller, with only 40 students. They recently constructed a new building on the campus, but it together with the two old school buildings were all destroyed in the earthquake.

The Esthanika campus was completely destroyed, with the desks and chairs left in open air.

There were 5 other primary schools in the area. The campuses were intact, but as the aftershocks were still frequent, the students are still having classes in temporary shelters. We also experienced a small aftershock when we were inspecting the school.

After inspecting these schools, Amrit and I felt that they were in great need of help. Thanks to the donations from all over the world in the past months, Light On will be able to partly finance rebuilding one of the schools. I want to thank Hong Kong architect Charles Lai, who volunteered to draft the reconstruction plans for us as well as provide other assistance. However, the reconstruction work is expensive, so we still need your help. If you want to know more about our reconstruction work, or provide financial or any other assistance, please contact us and follow us on FB: Light On

The beautiful and curious students in the mountains are waiting for us to help.

The truth behind earthquake relief work

It looks romantic for doing relief work, but it actually consumes lots of time and energy.

 “I thought I would be driving into the disaster area with my motorbike like a hero, looking into the suffering of the earthquake victims and passing the relief materials directly into their hands.  But when we arrived, we found that the village had already got lots of supplies from different organizations.  At the end, we added the bag of rice and some medicines onto that piles of materials and left.”  My Colombian friend told me that he and his friend had hired a motorcycle and a taxi to deliver the relief materials after the earthquake.  And the above description was his romanticized image about earthquake relief work.

After doing relief work for three weeks in Nepal, I realized that many people had this kind of romanticism about relief work.  And what I want to say is, to do relief work, especially in Nepal is not romantic at all, it is even frustrated sometimes.

While carrying out the relief work for Light on Nepal, the goal of me and Edventure Nepal Children’s home is to give the victims relief, but not affecting their lives and living style.  Besides, we are also very cautious while carrying out our mission so as not to endanger the future development of Edventure Nepal.

The epicenter, Gorkha is a very big district, the distance from one house to another is very far.

Gorkha is our focus area (it is one of the 75 provinces of Nepal and its total area is 3,610sq. Km), as it is a remote mountain area, villages and houses scatter across different hills and slopes, it normally takes at least a few minutes to walk from one house to another.  The goal of our relief work is to locate the victims who need more support and deliver our aid.  In the situation of Gorkha, we depended on the locals heavily in giving us information.  Luckily, Edventure Nepal has got the help of the local social workers and other active villagers, otherwise, we would not be able to get the names of all the victims, as well as the damage situation of their houses.

Before we announced how to distribute the relief materials, the villagers had already crowded around our bus.

Usually, we would know beforehand how many families were there to get our relief materials.  Say for example, there would be 100 families, but every time when we arrived, we would find there were 100 extra families who came because the news spread from one village to another.  As we didn’t know anything about these extra families, we could not define they were the victims of earthquakes or just villagers in poverty.  And these extra families would usually cause chaos while we were distributing the relief materials because they would try all the methods to get the supplies.  This kind of situation often caused us headaches, because we didn't want them to return with empty hands.  However, as we didn't prepare enough supplies for them, we had to figure out a way to settle the situation.  Fortunately, we had always invited lots of volunteers from the same village, as well as two to three volunteer policemen with guns to keep the order.

Luckily, we got the volunteer policeman to keep everything in order.

In the beginning of this month, while we were distributing the relief materials in Uttamntari, the chairman of Edventure Nepal, Amrit had come up a way to distinguish villagers who were really in need of support.  He divided the original package of relief materials into one or two more parts, only people who were really desperate, could get all the items including a tent, a blanket and 14kg of food, otherwise they could only get either one or two items.  In order to distinguish them, Amrit and other volunteers from Edventure Nepal would ask the detailed situation of each family.  Sometimes, Amrit would find the family was very much self-sustainable, such as their family members were working abroad or they had their own general store business.  Or they would find some drunken villagers came to ask for relief materials.  In these cases, we would rather distribute the supplies to other families who were more in need of help.

Such as on the 16^th of May, we were in Annapurna, Gorkha, we were planning to distribute relief materials to only 450 families, but at the end, there were more than 550 families gathering around us.  Luckily, we had kind of expected that, so even after giving all the packages of rice and lentils to the 450 families, we would still distribute boxes of dry noodles to the extra families.  So at the end, everyone was happy.

Therefore, please don’t assume that it is an easy task to distribute relief materials, it actually requires lots of procedures, and consumes lots of mental and physical strength.  And we also don’t want the villagers would rely on charitable organization like us in the long run.

Volunteers of Edventure Nepal were working diligently under the sun, writing down all the records of the victims.  And a lovely villager was sheltering him from the sun with an umbrella.

Further, there are lots of rules and regulations from the Nepal government.  For example, the Nepal government has restricted lots of charitable organizations to distribute relief materials to the victims directly, they would ask them to put their supplies into the government’s store houses for centralizing and make the distribution work more efficient.  However, at the end, how many supplies would really fall into the hands of the victims?  I really don’t know.

As a result, in order to really deliver the supplies directly into the hands of the victims without any administrative costs, we had to do lots of documentations and paper work in the request of the government.  Most importantly, we got the contacts from the local villagers who help us to coordinate with the local government bodies.  This is the reason why we could arrive and distribute the supplies easily and we were not restricted by the government.  We were cautious because we didn’t want the government would have any excuses to give any kinds of troubles to Edventure Nepal in the future.

Amrit was discussing how to distribute the supplies with the local social worker and the representative from the local government.

After doing volunteer work in Nepal for so many years, I still don’t understand the attitude of the Nepal government towards charitable organizations.   The government would actually regard this kind of charitable campaigns, especially earthquake relief work as a rare occasion to do big business.  Moreover, many people would think children’s homes such as Edventure Nepal has subsidies from the government.  I thought so too in the beginning.  But ironically, not only the government would not give them subsidies, they would waste more money in setting up different regulatory bodies and employing more people to control all the charitable organizations.  What for?  The motive behind is very clear, which is to “earn some money” in the names of carrying out rules and regulations.  Therefore, all the funds for local charities are always self-raised.

All in all, although there is a lot of bureaucracy while carrying out our relief work (I have to really thank Amrit for all of his dedication and help) which makes us sometimes frustrated, we really felt worthwhile once we saw the smiles of the victims and felt the warmth of the villagers.

An innocent kid from Gorkha.

While his mom was so busy taking the relief materials, this little baby boy was very busy doing all the mischief.

A sincere thank you from the victim of Gorkha.

I was so touched by the act of a very friendly villager from Annapurna, Gorkha who came to shelter me with her umbrella.

Thanks for all the board members of Edventure Nepal to be the volunteers of our relief work.

If you want to know more about our relief work, please follow our FB page:

Light on Nepal