At 12 p.m. on Apr. 25, 2015, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. The disastrous news was urgently delivered, and the United Nations asked for rescue teams all over the world. HUMAN IN LOVE (Chairman Kim, Young-hoo) and Dronepress (CEO Oh, Seung-hwan) sent an emergency relief team to Nepal on Apr. 28.
[Current image of Gongabu in Kathmandu where the emergency relief team was sent at the time of the earthquake]
Two years ago, HUMAN IN LOVE carried out rescue operations with the national rescue team of Oman at Gongabu in Kathmandu of Nepal. Two years has passed since then, and when we visited the place again, the once collapsed seven-story building was displaced by a new one-story building. A small shop and a barbershop opened at the building.
[Two years ago when the earthquake hit Nepal, HUMAN IN LOVE emergency relief team carried out rescue operation at a collapsed building of Gongabu.]
[A newly built one-story temporary building, the pain of the earthquake is healing and people are returning to their usual life.]
The place that once seemed hopeless was now full of young Nepalese who were preparing to work abroad. Children were running all around guest houses and shops that were waiting for the young Nepalese. When we arrived at the place, people gathered to see the strangers. As we explained that we used to carry out rescue operations two years ago, a man who introduced himself as Suk Bahadur took us to a two-story building which was right next to the building. He said that he remember the Korean and Oman rescue teams and asked why we came back. He was surprised to hear that we wanted to see how the place has changed after the earthquake.
[A small shop and barbershop opened at the one-story temporary building. Mr. Dharma Raz is greeting a customer]
Mr. Suk Bahadur told us that he does not want to think about the earthquake again since it took away everything from him. However, he thanked us for returning, grabbing our hands tight. He gave us a cup of coffee, saying that there is nothing he can give us but this cup of coffee. It was enough for us. We were happy enough to see that our small help laid a foundation for a new start for the Nepalese, but we became even happier to be served a warm cup of coffee along with the warm heart of the man.
[A cup of coffee for the guests from Korea was a big gift for us.]
Kathmandu was covered with dust as the whole city was under construction to restore the damage caused by the earthquake. The recovery of roads has been delayed, so the roadsides were particularly dusty due to passing cars and motorcycles, making it hard for us to breathe.
[Accommodations of Nepalese planning to work abroad are concentrated in Gongabu, Kathmandu, Nepal. ]
Buildings at the center of Kathmandu have gone through reinforcement or construction at a certain degree. Restoration process has made progress in Kathmandu since it is the capital city of the country, but unfortunately Sindhupalchok, the worst-affected area near the epicenter, has been neglected, barely going through any restoration process. Mr. Rami Chan who is operating a guest house in Kathmandu said, “About 20% of the city has been restored, but this is also barely done by the people for survival, not by the government.” Also, he said, “We still have a long way to go to completely recover from the damage.”
[Image of collapsed Patan Royal Palace, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, due to the earthquake. Currently the site is under restoration.]
[Unaffected remains of the Patan Royal Palace. However, most of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites were severely damaged by the earthquake.]
It is Nepal and its people that should eventually rebuild their lives which were ruined by the earthquake. However, we definitely believe that endless interest and support from the world two years ago have been and will serve as a foundation for the recovery. The red sun rose in the morning of the day we left Kathmandu. We pray for Nepal, the land of the Himalayas, the land full of history of challenge towards the limitation of humans, to overcome this hardship. Namaste Nepal!
