As part of her trip to Kathmandu this September/October Lai See has been visiting some of the outlying areas that were very badly affected by the earthquake around Gorkha visiting some children and schools that are being helped by another locally based organisation in the UK, Progress Nepal, who we may be working with more closely in the future. Here is an account of her journey by car from Kathmandu…
‘On leaving the Kathmandu highway we snaked around the often narrow and precarious road to reach Gorkha some 4 hours later. It is said that the car is a fast mode of travel. It would take twice as long if I were to travel by the public bus. The traffic is often held up by broken down lorries with just one lane in each direction. It was the main and only link from Kathmandu to Gorkha. A very bumpy ride indeed!
Evidence of the earthquake is still abundant but it is better than I thought. UN, Save the children, Oxfam and many other NGOs (volunteering /charitable organisations) are creating a micro economy in itself in Gorkha.
Following the earthquake, many schools were flattened. In order to get the schools to reopen, many bamboo schools were erected (see the photo). It is an excellent concept and works well in the summer months. However, it has been observed that it is going to be a slight, or rather a big problem, when winter arrives in a couple of months time. At the same time, houses are being erected using the bamboo as the main building material as well with corrugated iron as the main panelling. It is going to be a very cold winter !!