The Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), in coordination with the Himalayan Development Foundation (HDF), Colorado, USA, has provided financial assistance to 286 households affected by the recent floods in Syafrubesi, Ama Chhottang, and Timure areas of Rasuwa. The assistance was targeted at families who were displaced from their communities by the flooding and have been struggling with the immediate impact of the disaster. As part of the initial phase of the relief effort, each affected family received NPR 3,500 in financial assistance to help meet their immediate needs.
HDF and NNMGA worked together to distribute the aid, combining local coordination from a Nepalese tourist association with financial help from an international organization. As the local partner, NNMGA assisted with the distribution process, while HDF raised the initiative’s funding. The goal of the collaborative effort was to make sure that those in the impacted towns who had been forced to flee their homes due to the floods received the available humanitarian aid.
286 Displaced Households Receive Financial Assistance
The program’s first phase provided aid to 286 flood-affected homes in Syafrubesi, Ama Chhottang, and Timure. Families who had been uprooted from their communities after the flooding were designated as the households. Each home receives NPR 3,500, which is direct cash support that families may utilize to meet their immediate needs while they deal with the upheaval the tragedy has produced.
The distribution also shows how organizations related to Nepal’s tourist and mountain industries participated in relief efforts after the floods. As the local partner, NNMGA made it possible for impacted families to receive the relief money received through HDF. The collaboration involves local coordination for the provision of assistance in the program’s targeted areas rather than restricting the initiative to fundraising.
Pasang Tendi Sherpa Supports Relief Effort
Senior NNMGA member Pasang Tendi Sherpa helped launch the program by contributing to the relief effort. As the Himalayan Development Foundation Colorado’s local partner in Nepal, NNMGA collaborated with the organization to raise money for the distribution. For the initial phase of support, the partnership allowed the two groups to pool financial resources and coordinate locally.
Pasang Tendi Sherpa, HDF Colorado, and everyone who helped with the relief effort were thanked by HDF and NNMGA. With their help, the groups were able to directly aid hundreds of flood-affected homes. The program, according to the organizations, was designed to give families dealing with the aftermath of relocation useful help while also setting the stage for future aid to other disaster-affected communities.
Remaining Funds To Support Tourism Workers’ Families
HDF and NNMGA said the relief effort will not end with the distribution already completed, as some funds remain available for a second phase of support. The organizations plan to direct the remaining funds particularly toward families of tourism workers who lost their lives or are still missing following the recent floods. This next phase is expected to focus on workers whose families have been left without their support or are still waiting for information about their whereabouts.
The decision to prioritize these families comes as the organizations continue to assess the impact of the floods on people working in Nepal’s tourism sector. Mountain guides, tourism workers and other people connected to tourism activities in flood-affected areas have been among those affected by the disaster. HDF and NNMGA are therefore preparing to collect sufficient information about the affected workers and their families before deciding how the remaining relief funds will be distributed.
Organizations Seek Information On Missing, Deceased Workers
The organizations are currently collecting and verifying information about tourism workers who died or remain missing as a result of the floods. The verification process is intended to help identify the families that may be eligible for assistance during the next phase and provide a clearer basis for distributing the remaining relief funds.
HDF and NNMGA have appealed to people who have information about tourism workers who lost their lives or are still missing to provide their details to the organizations. The information will be included in the ongoing assessment of affected families and used in planning the next relief distribution. The organizations said the continued collection and verification of information will help ensure that the next phase of assistance can reach families of tourism workers who have been directly affected by the disaster.
