What ended up taking place was a 16 hour journey of the body and mind, through some of the most undeveloped terrain in the KTM valley, riding on the roof of trucks and vans, the backs of motorcycles, over rivers and through the mountains to reach those in need.
BIA Bodhisattvas In Action has a new team, made up of volunteers willing to push themselves to the limits, put themselves in harm’s and danger’s way in order to fulfill our mission: to render aid, supplies and most importantly hope to those who have yet to receive anything. Our trip started in the early morning, and we made it back bruised, beaten, filthy and emotionally devoured well after nightfall. Having not eaten anything ourselves the whole day, dedicating all our energies to reaching the village we had put our sights on, we pushed through and the hardships that we saw along the way were raw, life changing, and eye opening. Such travesty and destruction, along the streets and roads as we passed by, entire villages shaken to the ground, their earthen rubble the only remnant of what once was homes and people’s entire lives, destroyed in an instant. This area was one of, if not the most drastically affected in the region, well outside of the bustle of the city of Kathmandu and its famous toppled landmarks, we were out in the hills where the damage and the loss was truly catastrophic. Over 2000 lives were lost in this region alone, the poorest of the poor reside here and therefore these numbers could never be verified, leading us to believe that the actual figures are much higher. Leaving the city behind and striking out to the hills we were met with plenty of technical difficulties as well as emotional ones, one of our trucks broke down and we had to move all our supplies to the other. River beds needed to be crossed, we had to get out and push more than once, hills meant for jeep only travel were traversed with our vans and trucks, while we rode on the rooftops, just at the edge of the cliff plummeting hundreds of meters down, the whole way up the mountain - and down, and up again once more.
Fearing that we may not even have our main supply truck make the journey we stopped in several smaller villages along the way to render medical aid and whatever supplies we had with us while we waited for our truck to catch up. With our team this time we were also extremely blessed with the presence of two doctors, who worked themselves ragged all day keeping up with the demand - we could have had ten of them with us and still needed more. Finally reaching the village in the late afternoon I was taken up by myself to the upper village where the damage was the worst, walked through with a local guide who explained to me that the rubble and stones we were walking on had been his newly built home just days earlier. In response to my questions about where they were sleeping, he simply motioned to the ground by my feet: “right here, we have no one else to go”. This area was so remote we were the first to bring aid here. We came with a big truck full of bags of rice and beans, blankets and medicine, as well as bags of clothes to give out to the children. This amazing gift to those who have nothing is a direct result of the donations we have received and all the support that has been sent this way by yourselves, and all the generous people from around the world who have pitched in. While many of the city’s areas have been treated and given help what really remains now is to bring what we can to those who have yet to see any aid or contact at all. Our team is in direct contact and is present in the meetings of world aid organizations, hospitals and government aid, and as a result we are being given information as to what areas haven’t been reached, who is really in need, and where we will go next. This new team has a mission, to continue this work, to reach those who haven’t been reached, and we are shipping out again in the morning. Chogyal Rinpoche is on a scouting mission again this afternoon, researching where we will go, what we need to prepare for tomorrow, and where we will be of the most help. Villages filled with children, many of them orphaned, losing their parents, siblings, homes, and yet still wearing the most glowing and radiant smiles I have ever seen. Seeing this amongst the devastation by their side, seeing what they have lived through and that they are still able to muster this joy and energy is heart warming, and inspires and reassures me that what we are doing is indeed the best use of our time.
Please do not forget about these people, these places, this need is real and the continuing suffering and hardship is tangible. What you may see on the news, that the world health teams and search and rescue are going home, this may be true but the real work has just started. Helping Kathmandu and the surrounding valley to rebuild and restore what they have lost will be a tiring and long road, but we must do it without hesitation. We must continue to donate and send what we can, we must continue to reach out to those who have lost everything. We must have the energy and the determination to go on, because they have done so with a lot less than we. Please help to spread this message, share this so that people can understand that the work is just beginning, the help is still needed, we cannot stop now as the time for rebuilding is at hand. Donations are still needed, we can help you if you’d like to donate, these donations are being handed out directly to those in need, skipping all the bureaucracy and politics, right here on the ground. Where there is a need we will send help, where those who have lost it all we will go and help rebuild, armed only with supplies, medicine and all the heart we can carry with us. We must help them rebuild, we must do what we can. If they need it then there we shall go - armed with all the heart we can carry.
BIA Bodhisattvas In Action has a new team, made up of volunteers willing to push themselves to the limits, put themselves in harm’s and danger’s way in order to fulfill our mission: to render aid, supplies and most importantly hope to those who have yet to receive anything. Our trip started in the early morning, and we made it back bruised, beaten, filthy and emotionally devoured well after nightfall. Having not eaten anything ourselves the whole day, dedicating all our energies to reaching the village we had put our sights on, we pushed through and the hardships that we saw along the way were raw, life changing, and eye opening. Such travesty and destruction, along the streets and roads as we passed by, entire villages shaken to the ground, their earthen rubble the only remnant of what once was homes and people’s entire lives, destroyed in an instant. This area was one of, if not the most drastically affected in the region, well outside of the bustle of the city of Kathmandu and its famous toppled landmarks, we were out in the hills where the damage and the loss was truly catastrophic. Over 2000 lives were lost in this region alone, the poorest of the poor reside here and therefore these numbers could never be verified, leading us to believe that the actual figures are much higher. Leaving the city behind and striking out to the hills we were met with plenty of technical difficulties as well as emotional ones, one of our trucks broke down and we had to move all our supplies to the other. River beds needed to be crossed, we had to get out and push more than once, hills meant for jeep only travel were traversed with our vans and trucks, while we rode on the rooftops, just at the edge of the cliff plummeting hundreds of meters down, the whole way up the mountain - and down, and up again once more.
Fearing that we may not even have our main supply truck make the journey we stopped in several smaller villages along the way to render medical aid and whatever supplies we had with us while we waited for our truck to catch up. With our team this time we were also extremely blessed with the presence of two doctors, who worked themselves ragged all day keeping up with the demand - we could have had ten of them with us and still needed more. Finally reaching the village in the late afternoon I was taken up by myself to the upper village where the damage was the worst, walked through with a local guide who explained to me that the rubble and stones we were walking on had been his newly built home just days earlier. In response to my questions about where they were sleeping, he simply motioned to the ground by my feet: “right here, we have no one else to go”. This area was so remote we were the first to bring aid here. We came with a big truck full of bags of rice and beans, blankets and medicine, as well as bags of clothes to give out to the children. This amazing gift to those who have nothing is a direct result of the donations we have received and all the support that has been sent this way by yourselves, and all the generous people from around the world who have pitched in. While many of the city’s areas have been treated and given help what really remains now is to bring what we can to those who have yet to see any aid or contact at all. Our team is in direct contact and is present in the meetings of world aid organizations, hospitals and government aid, and as a result we are being given information as to what areas haven’t been reached, who is really in need, and where we will go next. This new team has a mission, to continue this work, to reach those who haven’t been reached, and we are shipping out again in the morning. Chogyal Rinpoche is on a scouting mission again this afternoon, researching where we will go, what we need to prepare for tomorrow, and where we will be of the most help. Villages filled with children, many of them orphaned, losing their parents, siblings, homes, and yet still wearing the most glowing and radiant smiles I have ever seen. Seeing this amongst the devastation by their side, seeing what they have lived through and that they are still able to muster this joy and energy is heart warming, and inspires and reassures me that what we are doing is indeed the best use of our time.
Please do not forget about these people, these places, this need is real and the continuing suffering and hardship is tangible. What you may see on the news, that the world health teams and search and rescue are going home, this may be true but the real work has just started. Helping Kathmandu and the surrounding valley to rebuild and restore what they have lost will be a tiring and long road, but we must do it without hesitation. We must continue to donate and send what we can, we must continue to reach out to those who have lost everything. We must have the energy and the determination to go on, because they have done so with a lot less than we. Please help to spread this message, share this so that people can understand that the work is just beginning, the help is still needed, we cannot stop now as the time for rebuilding is at hand. Donations are still needed, we can help you if you’d like to donate, these donations are being handed out directly to those in need, skipping all the bureaucracy and politics, right here on the ground. Where there is a need we will send help, where those who have lost it all we will go and help rebuild, armed only with supplies, medicine and all the heart we can carry with us. We must help them rebuild, we must do what we can. If they need it then there we shall go - armed with all the heart we can carry.
