The Nepalese Community Nagoya (NCN), Japan, has extended their support to earthquake victims in the country. Members of the organisation have arrived in Nepal and are arranging relief material for the worst-affected districts, including Sindhupalchok and Gorkha.

According to Pradeep Panthi, sub-coordinator of NCN, after the earthquake hit Nepal, the organisation members started making the rounds of train stations in Japan and talking to people, urging them to help earthquake victims here. Their effort paid off when some corporate houses showed interest in helping out. A total sum of around Rs7.5 million was collected during the fund-raising period.

On the ninth day after they started collecting funds, the organisation also hosted a vigil ceremony in Nagoya in memory of all who had lost their lives in the April 25 earthquake.
A nine-member team arrived in Nepal on May 20 and distributed tents and other goods to the victims. The group also ran a health camp in Chokati VDC of Sindhupalchok with a six-member health team under the support of the Human Organ Transplant Centre, Bhaktapur.

“The tents we had remaining after the distribution, we have handed over to Jiri Higher Secondary School, in order to have them distributed among the 35 primary schools in the area that collapsed in the quake,” said Panthi.

The team also went over to Gorkha on May 28, carrying along 200 bundles of corrugated zinc sheets. “We will help the locals build temporary shelters that should keep them safe during the monsoon,” said Shiva Ram Khadka, coordinator of the team. The group has also provided medicinal supplies so that they can equip the makeshift health centres operating in the affected areas. While there have been reports of obstruction in relief distribution in many of the affected districts, the NCN members said that they did not face any problems during their relief efforts. “The distribution went smoothly,” said Khadka.   
According to Khadka, the group aims to help the affected with long-term rehabilitation programmes.

He said that in Japan, whenever there is a major earthquake, people take shelter in school premises as they are considered the safest places to be in. “But in Nepal, most of the schools have collapsed. We want to build some strong school buildings that can withstand major jolts in the future,” said Khadka.   

The group will end its current operation after their programme in Gorkha. The organisation plans to donate whatever is left over after their relief work in Gorkha to the PM’s Disaster Relief Fund. They are also open to funding other organisations that are working for the cause.

“Since we want to be a part of the larger rehabilitation and restructuring process, we are willing to provide the remaining funds to any credible organisation that will submit its long-term proposal to us,” said Panthi. Once the team returns to Japan, they are planning to reach out to large-scale business houses and seek more support to help in the restructuring programmes in the country.

Published on: 29 May 2015 | The Kathmandu Post