Integral Members and their partners are bringing relief to some of the districts in Nepal that have been most affected by the Nepal Earthquake.
Twenty Integral Members are now involved in responding to the effects of the earthquake which devastated Nepal on Saturday 25th April 2015. As of 30 April, the official death toll had reached 5,630 people with an estimated 4.2 million people in urgent need of water, sanitation and hygiene support.
Integral Members are responding by raising funds, supporting the work of established local partners and establishing their own rapid relief programmes to bring immediate assistance. Integral’s in-country coordinator for this response arrived in Kathmandu earlier today. Seconded from one of Integral’s Member agencies for this vital role, they will be working with Members and Partners as well as supporting broader coordination through the UN cluster system.
Relief activities are well underway with urgent medical treatment, food and water being provided by Tearfund partners in Nepal to survivors of the earthquake. Dozens of volunteers from Rescue Network Nepal are helping communities in the badly affected districts of Makwanpur and Lalitpur, supplying plastic sheets for shelter and emergency food. They’ve also been treating injuries, such as broken limbs and open wounds, and so far nearly 300 people have received medical care.
‘Rescue Network Nepal were able to quickly mobilise volunteers over the weekend to respond in some of the most affected areas providing essential first aid to survivors who were wounded and had been rescued from collapsed buildings. They also took with them essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter, ensuring that people’s most immediate needs were being met straight away.’ Oenone Chadburn, Head of Humanitarian Support at Tearfund said. ‘Integral’s global network helps make fast and effective responses like this possible.’
Medair has identified a remote mountainous area, north of Kathmandu, which has been badly affected by the earthquake. Joel Kaiser, Medair’s Team Leader in Nepal reported: ‘Roads are a big unknown at this time because of heavy rain, and potential landslides. We expect we’ll have to leave our vehicles, have help loading relief items off them, and hike for several hours to the villages. It’s physically demanding, but the team is eager and motivated to reach these communities. We keep hearing stories about how many villages haven’t received any assistance before, so we’ll likely be the first to meet them with any kind of relief items.’ Medair are distributing more than 1,100 shelter kits, including tarpaulins and rope, and more than 500 solar lamps in collaboration with fellow Integral Member, Mission East. Mission East are providing additional emergency shelter materials and WASH items for more than 6,500 households.
A number of Integral Members are working with The International Nepal Fellowship (INF), Nepal’s longest established International NGO, who deployed a medical team earlier this week to Gorkha, a remote area close to the epicentre of the quake. Their team reported ‘Since our team arrived in the area on Monday they have heard of many confirmed reports of countless villages (ranging from 50 to 1500 residents), where 70-90% of dwellings have been completely destroyed. The simple dwellings have either collapsed or been swept away by landslides…’
World Renew is partnering with Christian Reformed World Missions in Nepal to assist at Christ Reformed Churches, three of which are in Gorkha. They also report nearly all of the homes have been destroyed by the earthquake and families are sheltering in church buildings, desperately in need of assistance. World Renew is aiming to provide water purification tablets, water filtration systems, emergency food, cooking fuel, and tents to those most in need. World Renew is also supporting the airlifting of medical supplies that are intended to treat the health needs of 10,000 people for three months through fellow Integral Member, MAP International.
Grace Wiebe, Senior Program Manager for World Renew, is travelling to the region early next week. Grace said ‘We are so grateful to work with our fellow members of the Integral Alliance to be able to reach people in Nepal who have been severely impacted by this earthquake. In the early days of an emergency it can be so chaotic, but Integral Members have worked together to support each other to coordinate relief efforts and even to find lodging for staff and volunteers. We are so appreciative of Integral staff who are connecting with the United Nations clusters on behalf of the Integral Members. Integral enhances our effectiveness in serving the people of Nepal while working in the coordinated UN system.’
Integral will continue to co-ordinate Member and partner activity within Nepal and facilitate teleconferences and the sharing of information and resources for all of its Members with work and partners in the region at HQ level.
Cedar Fund, Food for the Hungry, Integra Foundation, International Health Partners, MAP International, Medair, Medical Teams International, Mission East, SEL, TEAR Australia, Tear NL, Tearfund Belgium, Tearfund Switzerland, TEAR Fund New Zealand, Tearfund UK, Transform Aid International, World Concern, World Relief (CA), World Relief (US) and World Renew have all opted into an Integral Response to the Nepal earthquake.
ACAPS: Briefing Note: Nepal, Earthquake, 30 April. – Link no longer available.
