No walls, no roof

18/09/2008

BMS World Mission doctor Katrina Butterworth explains how the major floods in south east Nepal have impacted one of her trainees at Patan hospital in Kathmandu. A few weeks ago the monsoon rains led to a big river in the southern part of Nepal bursting its banks and causing a huge flood.

We hear so many stories of natural disasters that it is easy to lose sight of the people behind the numbers. This week I had a sharp reminder.

I asked Arvind, one of my new GP trainees who has just enrolled in the first year of the programme, how his week had been. I was thinking of his first week working in Patan hospital.

I was somewhat taken aback therefore when he said “terrible”. He was referring to the fact that he had just returned from his family home.

Arvind comes from the flood-hit area. He went to his home to find out what the damage was – total devastation was the answer. No walls, no roof, just the foundations were left.

All the contents of his home were gone too – a result of the looters that went round afterwards.

Arvind's elderly parents and his brother had escaped the flood and were living in a rented room in the next district. In his village of 15 houses, not one was intact.

Relief materials for a family in Saptari
Credit: UN/OCHA

Those made of brick had some walls still standing, the mud ones (like his own) were completely gone. All the soil from their fields has been swept away too – their livelihood has gone forever.

BMS partner United Mission to Nepal is one of many organisations trying to help the victims of the flood with urgent relief. It is also helping plan for the future through its work with local development charities to encourage flood mitigation work as well as immediate relief.

People are hoping for help from the government, but it is hard to believe that the government will be able to do very much as there is such pressure concerning land and money.

Please pray for Arvind's family and the thousands of people like them who are trying to rebuild their lives.

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