Bungamati (Lalitpur District)

Today the whole group went to the Lalitpur District, which is one of the three districts in the Kathmandu Valley, along with Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.  We got there at around 8am in the morning, because we had a long day of home visits ahead of us. We were especially focused in the Bungamati area, which is the birthplace of the deity Rato Machhendranath, regarded as the patron of the valley and his large shikhar-style temple in the center of the village square is his home for six months of the year (he spends the rest of his time in Patan). 

I am a part of Group A and because the area is a lot bigger, our group split into six different teams. I was very lucky to be in group 5 because we were heading into the most devastated disaster areas. On my team was also a well-known Nepalese entrepreneur's daughter and friends. I was so happy that her and her friends decided to follow through with their humanitarian work experience. I was very grateful that they happened to be on my team, because this way we had no translation problems. They were very helpful!!!!! And what a fast learner and great spokesperson for Tzu Chi Foundation. By the middle of the case study trip, they could already talk about Tzu Chi all by themselves. We all had the SOP down to a T. Love it! <3

The hardest hit area was in the Kathmandue Valley. We went and visited today and it was a very grande site. We all divided into nine different groups to go visit each and every part of the disaster area. Different types of rocks and roof pieces could be found all over the area. 

It was my job to check if everything on the distribution coupon was correct. (Full name, total number of people in the family, area #, time of distribution, color of circle, correct number of stamps). I was also checking for partially collapsed vs. fully collapsed houses. We went door to door, checking and talking with as many earthquake effected residents as possible.

Thanks to local volunteers for translating for us. Without them, we could not have gotten to so many different families' homes. This grandpa lives by himself and he was so grateful that we did not forget him. We were all like his grand daughters! 

A woman going back to what is left of her home in search of family photos. 

Recruiting local volunteers! This one on the motorbike speaks mandarin!!!! What are the odds???

Cutest baby ever!!! 

This grandmother begged us to go visit her daughter who was badly injured in the earthquake. She was crying while walking, so I tried to comfort her as we walked toward her tent. When we got to her home finally, it was quickly revealed that she was not living in a tent, but in the corner of a chicken house, with many chickens roaming around. On the day of the earthquake, her daughter was on the 5th floor and trying to save her one and a half year old daughter when the walls collapsed on her back. Her spinal injury was very severe and was immediately sent to the Kathmandu Army Hospital for immediate surgery.  She had 6 screws in the middle section of her spinal cord, spent a total of 25 days in the hospital and was prescribed a 6 weeks recovery period. I tested her reflexes and overall lower body functioning when I was there. Everything seemed pretty positive, other than a minor case of muscular atrophy. I have requested a medical visit from our Tzu Chi Medical Team. 

Many residents are in the process of salvaging whatever they can from the earthquake aftermath. In the most hard hit areas, you can clearly see residents using big and long wooden pillars to hold up the unstable walls. Many residents are still in a very frightened state of mind, due to the fact that they do not know if the walls will come collapsing down at any time. Whenever I headed into a partially collapsed home, the local residents and volunteers all cringed at the thought that it could come crumbling down with every step. 

These adorable children followed us all day through the wreckage. 

Today was a very productive day! We managed to visit a total of 57 different houses through the hardest hit areas. What a feat! I am so grateful for these face to face experiences with the locals. I've learned so much about the culture and picking up more and more Nepali as I go along. 

8 hours of home visits and three bird droppings later, I am feeling super lucky!!!!