Reports have been coming through that access to Kathmandu has been affected. It would seem that the Kathmandu valley is relatively unscathed. It is in the rural villages and up in the mountains that are very badly affected. Places like Pokhara and Chitwan National park are reported to be in a very poor state indeed.
The Festival (equivalent of Xmas in the west) comes early this year – towards the end of September rather than October. Each year there is a mass exodus from the city to return to their home villages to celebrate with the older generations. The schools are closed for 2 weeks but many stay on longer thus missing school. The 2 million + residents in Kathmandu will be travelling ‘home’. No doubt the impact of the flood will be felt very keenly then..
As far as KIKN’s children are concerned there has not been any report of damage to their homes. However, 80% of our children travel back to their rural villages each year for the festival. Let’s hope that the flooding will have subsided by then and that they have a good festival all round.
Thanks for your concern through emails and phone calls.