5/13/2015-It was already past midnight when we arrived here at Kathmandu. We could not clearly see anything on the streets. In the morning, our team went exploring nearby Boudha, Kathmandu with the logistics and touring help from Ven.Lhakpa Dandy Sherpa, Ven. Karma Samdu Gurung, and Ven. Karma Jinpa Gurung from Karma Lekshey Ling Lower Secondary School and from Mr. Ngawang Tenzing Lama and his family. Boudha was in a pretty good shape. In about 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at another small town called Sakhu. Sankhu was a full of rubbles and debris. This was one of the towns that were in near-total destruction. More than 90 percent of the houses are flattened. Rest of them appears to be unlivable or in near-fall situation. Despite of the danger, the Sakhu-natives had huddled up in a camp underneath some standing buildings. A native told us “The first quake damaged significant houses, but the second 7.3 magnitude left this town looking like a ghost town.” We noticed more than 90 % of the houses in Sankhu were built in a traditional way-mud and stones-and were built very closely one after another. Traditional houses were the vulnerable ones. Frequent convulsions left no mercy on those houses. Because houses are built so closely, there is no way for large vehicles like Bull Dozers to come through and clear the debris. The sight is horrible to look at. On top of that a native said “no rescue team has ever arrived and no relief aid has been received from anybody in the town.” People suspect there could be dead bodies underneath the wreckage, but nobody has gotten their attention yet.
As a contribution, we gave away 1,000 NRS. to 30 natives, in total of 30,000 NRs., who were crammed inside only 2 tents.
I pray God to give them strength to build back their houses and community!!
The damage was extreme in Sankhu than other areas.
The picture below are the picture of towns we visited today. The towns include Balaju, swyambhu, kalanki, and nearby areas.
