Life and hope sprouting on the flood-devastated land

On August 18, 2008, a tragedy overtook the village of Bhantabari in Sunsari district, near the Saptakosi river located in the southeast region of Nepal. A deadly flood caused the river to rise and break the embankment. Around 50,000 residents suffered from flood. Bhantabari, the nearest village from the embankment, was damaged the most; the flood swept away roads and it blocked the traffic; houses and fields disappeared.

The situation didn’t get better even though about two months passed. Since the people, who had been farming, lost their agricultural fields, their life was miserable and their surroundings were also very bad; the victims camped out on the roadside, and the dead bodies of livestock decayed, smelling so bad and contaminating water. There were death cases of children who drank the contaminated water. Nevertheless, the victims had no other choice to feed on the fish caught from the contaminated river.

Hearing these situations, the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation visited the flood-devastated Bhantabari on October 23. Heavy machinery was mobilized by the Nepalese government seemingly because they started to repair the bridge, the only road to enter the village. Instead of the broken bridge, there was a makeshift bamboo bridge made by the villagers. Because cars couldn’t cross the bamboo bridge, the foundation members and villagers carried relief supplies in handcarts or on their back from the entrance of the village.

The relief goods that the foundation carried with a truck were rice, instant noodles, bottled water and medical supplies. Directors of the foundation, Kim Jung-rak and Kim Hae-suk, comforted and encouraged the victims, delivering relief supplies in person. Victims who urgently needed clean water and medical supplies besides food, welcomed the members’ coming from a far country, Korea, and gave thanks to the WeLoveU Foundation. We could see the will and hope for a new life from the villagers who carried relief supplies with smiles on their faces.

On October 25, the board members of the foundation visited Khadga Rana Magar (3) who lives in Basundhara, Kathmandu. Khadga had been suffering from a kind of hydrocephalus since she was born, which caused enlargement of the head because of water on the brain. Khadga couldn’t receive proper medical treatment because the expense for precise examination was very expensive. Khadga’s parents, who were heartbroken because of their sick child, gave sincere gratitude to the foundation for giving warm comfort along with medical expense. Thanks to the support, Khadga will receive medical treatment after identifying the name of her disease and its progress through MRI photographing.