HEALING HAKU PROJECT is a relief and rebuilding project for the people of Haku, Rasuwa who lost their relatives, family members and houses in massive earthquake of Saturday 25th April 2015. This project is initiated and supported by team of individual volunteers such as Edyta Stêpczak from Poland, team of Trekking Experts P. Ltd. and Travel With Social Cause.
In the ill fated afternoon of Saturday, 25th April 2015, a massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale followed by another devastating 6.9 Mw on Sunday 26th April 2015 and 7.4 Mw on 12 May 2015 struck Nepal, causing massive damages and loss of life. This apocalyptic moment turned the lives of Nepali to a chaotic mode. The earthquake has inflicted a never healing scar on the face of Nepal. Thousands have died and millions are left homeless. Ancient monuments of forgotten kings, mythical valleys with ancient intricate alleyways and multihued villages now lie under rubble.
The cruelest wounds have been inflicted on our remote villages — those once picturesque and pristine with honest and hardworking people are converted into ruins. That very charm of remoteness has turned these hills into landscapes of misery. Among those most affected places, Haku VDC is one where 95% houses are fully destroyed, about 58 people killed and all 3200 people left homeless.
Haku is a VDC that consists of nine Haku wards perched on a hillside, a 4-hour walk from Dhunche, district of Rasuwa. It is a Tamang (Janajati community) village. All 9 wards of Haku (total of 718 families) suffered immense damages due to dry landslides caused by the earthquake on 25 April 2015. At least 58 people lost their lives, 95% of the houses were destroyed. The local people, farmers, lost their properties and crops. Most of the wards of the village are no longer habitable and due to a very high risk of further landslides during the in this monsoon, the people have been relocated temporarily: entire Haku wards 2, 3, and partially Haku wards 4,5,6,7 – to Dhunche; Haku ward 8, 9 to Kalikasthan, Betrawati, Bandre , Shanti Bazaar and some are still in Kathmandu.
The government is looking for a place for a suitable permanent relocation for the people of Haku. In the meantime, the villagers are in need of any kind of assistance as they are no longer self-reliable but depend on external help. About 95% people are depended on farming and due earthquake their villages are no longer habitable now and they forced to leave their villages and farmlands. They do not have any extra skill to self sustain because only 7% people are educated and rest 93% do not have even basic education knowledge. From 25th April, these about 3200 people surviving with the help of some NGOs and personal help. However they have big families and they do not have and even don’t know any source of income for surviving. Beside this, Rasuwa is very remote area and geographically very difficult to reach there.
The situation calls for a sustained support to prevent death from hunger, exposure and risk of epidemics of communicable diseases in weakened populations. Individual volunteers such as Edyta Stêpczak from Poland, team of Trekking Experts P. Ltd. and Travel With Social Cause are united with the mutual goal of providing support to their homeland. Collaborating through conference calls and social media platforms, Nepalese and friends of Nepal from all across the world shared live information from the ground to locate their loved ones, help coordinate immediate rescue operations in hardly-hit areas, and raise awareness. Out of these coordinated efforts, HEALING HAKU was founded, with people from all walks of life expressing a shared concern for the social and economic revival of HAKU. We are mobilizing our networks to offer meaningful contribution for rural Nepal. We have decided our best approach to assist Nepal is through different phases of support.
1st Phase: Search & Rescue (27th April 2015)
Knowing that all the members of Trekking Experts are safe and confiding that the most successful relief effort has to done by Nepalese, we decided to react immediately. A team comprising of well-experienced high altitude rescuer, first aid responders and volunteers were set and deployed immediately to the most affected area of Rasuwa. And team of Trekking Experts succeeded to rescue one kid and one seriously injured adult from Mailunga Bensi Haku. And at the same time we have been able to collect 23 dead bodies who killed by earthquake.
Traveling on foot, the team reached the villages of Mailung, Gogane, Tiru, Thulo Haku, and Sano Haku. These villages were completely torn apart by landslides triggered by the earthquakes. Our team was amongst the first team to reach these affected areas of Rasuwa.
Working tirelessly, the team was able to conduct the following efforts successfully:
Help people to clear rubble,
Evacuate people from rubbles,
Disposed dead bodies to avoid contamination,
Setup safety zones and help build temporary shelters with whatever resources available at sites,
Provide Post trauma stress consoling especially to children and women,
Make assessment of immediate relief requirement
2nd Phase: First Relief Materials (29th April 2015)
Upon returning to Kathmandu after the successful rescue and evacuation efforts, the team assessing the prime requirement to be food, shelter and clothing, immediately reacted to address the needs. An immediate appeal for donation was made amongst the members of Trekking Experts. Consequential to the above, all members donated money as per their capability and set a fund to purchase relief materials. The Trekking Experts team generously donated and we were able to accumulate a sum of Rs. One million. To make most effective of the limited fund, we decided to focus on Haku. Haku with 77 houses is amongst the worst hit. In Haku, all the houses are completely destroyed and the landslides washed away all fields with crops. In this relief, we had provided 77 tarpaulins, 172 pcs mattresses, 77 meter ropes, 415 kg of beaten rice, 2310 kg of rice, 830 pkt noodles, 1245 pkts of biscuits, 1127 pcs of wearing cloths (shirts, pants, trouser, jackets etc), 118 pairs of shoes and 23 pcs warm blankets. One Nepal’s top daily English Newspaper; The Himalaya Times has designated our initiation with top priority on 31st May 2015 http://epaper.thehimalayantimes.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&eddate=05/31/2015 (Page 8).
3rd Phase: Relief Materials for monsoon (9th May 2015)
Till date, the government relief has failed to provide people of Haku with sustainable solutions – many continue to live in picnic tents with limited food and sanitation. Unless this acute food shortage is addressed soon, people of Haku are likely to fall severely ill or die this monsoon. The situation is dire. We need to respond before the physical, emotional and psychological impacts of this disaster are irreparable.
With monsoon approaching, the threats of more landslides loom in the area of Haku. Possibilities of roads and trails being washed by landslides are high resulting in total isolation. Aiding Nepal’s rural poor must be top priority, because of the great vulnerability of all residents.
In this phage of relief materials distribution, we have distributed 15550 kilogram of rice, 523 kgs of dry vegetables, 523 kg of iodine salt, 448 liter cooking oil, 80 pcs plastic buckets and 80 pcs mini water filter. Out of 751 families in Haku VDC, 465 families are benefited from this relief.
4th Phase: Solar Lightings (4th June 2015)
With the help of Caritas Nepal (a NGO), we have distributed solar mini lamp for the earthquake victims of Haku. With this help, 465 families has got lighting for monsoon.
5th Phase: Education Materials (19th and 20th July 2015)
Under Healing Haku Project, we have helped to 577 students of Haku by distributing education materials such as school uniforms, school bags, notebooks, pencils, pencil cutters, dusters, white boards, markers etc. With the help of Nepal Help, we’re able to distribute education materials.
6th Phase: Health Care and Drinking Water (13th Oct to 18th Oct 2015)
In partnership of a Focus Himalaya Travel (a travel company from Italy) and Trekking Experts, we have organized a Free Medical Camp in Haku which benefited 150 people. There were 6 from Italy and 6 from Trekking Experts. There were 2 doctors, 2 water experts, one geologist and photographers.
We were able to provide free medicines and treatment for over 150 people. And this project will build a community Medical Hall with free medicines and drinking water for whole village.
7th Phase: Income Generation Project
The project vision implies that vocational education besides creating employability and income generation acts as a driving force in capacity building for sustainable dignified livelihood opportunities amongst the destitute people of Haku. Reflections from the current unemployment scenario indicate that vocational training has become the need of the hour.
The project envisages socio-economic transformation of the earthquake devastated Haku youth, women and men from a status of unemployment and vulnerability to a product of employability or enterprise. It aims to create vocational opportunities to the people of Haku living in temporary camps by developing flexible skills, training and placement services in consonance with the markets’ needs and demands and prepare them to face the new economic challenges. 71 women and 30 men have got training of weaving, knitting and bamboo product training which was help in 19-26 November 2015 and 29-6 December 2015. Read detail report. And this project is designated by Nepal’s top National Daily Newspaper. http://epaper.thehimalayantimes.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&eddate=11/22/2015 (22nd November 2015, Page 8).
8th Phase: Warm Blanket Distribution
In association with Dr. Adjo Zorn and Top Mountain Tours, we have already distributed 94 blankets to the earthquake victims of Haku-2. And we will distribute more 657 blankets for the rest of 657 families of Haku.
9th Phase: Building Community Hall and Health Post in Haku
Even after 9 months of earthquake, there is no school and health post is built yet. All the schools were fully destroyed. There were small primary schools in each village and a health post before earthquake, now there are no more schools. Due to unavailable of school buildings and health post building all the students are deprived from education after earthquake and which has been already nine months. So in order to continue and start teaching classes, we need to have school building first which is known as temple of learning. Without the school and education materials and facilities, we cannot imagine the education classes there.
With the financial support of Focus for Nepal, Trekking Experts have built a community hall/health post in Haku. And this hall will be as primary school until school is ready. Similary one room of this hall will be as use as health post for primary health check-ups. And in the future this community hall be used for any activities conducted in the villages such conduction training, meetings, orientation class, rooms and storage for public properties, school, health post etc.
10th Phase: Distribution of Seeds and Fertilizers
Under Healing Haku Project initiated by Trekking Experts, Trekking Experts has donated seeds and fertilizer to 465 earthquake victim families. Due to earthquake on 25th April 2015, over 500 families left homeless and left no source of seeds for farming in their fields.
11th Phase: Construction of Primary School
Trekking Experts has been continuously supporting and promoting education in remote areas. Gosain Kunda Primary School, a primary school in remote place of Rasuwa has supported by Trekking Experts for building school, all required accessories such as white boards, desk, benches, playing tools, school uniforms, school shoes, note books, pencils, bags, raincoats etc. With this help 577 students are directly benefited. Trekking Experts has also started a Scholarship Fund by the means of which honest and talented students can be benefited from this scholarship program.
With the financial support of Mr. Mariusz from Poland, Trekking Experts has built a 4-room primary school in a very remote place of Rasuwa (Langtang region). Currently around 76 students are benefiting directly from this school. The name of the school is Gosain Kunda Primary School, Parbati Kunda-2, Rasuwa. Trekking Experts has also donated 28 desk-benches, white boards, laptops, markers, dusters, notebooks, pencils, toothbrushes, toothpastes, balls and many toys to children of Gosain Kunda Primary school.
12th Phase: Set up safe drinking water supply
In collaboration with volunteers from Kathmandu, Trekking Experts has donated 110 water filter and buckets at IDP camps of Dhucnhe, Rasuwa for earthquake victims.
13th Phase: Micro-Financing for:
i) Advanced Agro
ii) Handicraft Product Development
iii) Sustainable Tourism (promote home stay tourist by connecting to Tamang Heritage Trail)
iv) Education (sponsorship of kids for education
14th Phase: Rebuild Houses
Many national and international media had designated Healing Haku Project as one of the most effective earthquake relief project of Nepal.
