We thank our mighty Father in Heaven and all our gracious partners who have extended their generous hearts to support our grieving families affected by devastating floods in the remote villages located in the Nepal-China border.
The incessant rainfall caused inundation which has affected hundreds of households; 220 people have lost their lives, another 82 are missing in this village. According to the August 21, 2020, official Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) situation report, 18,505 families (92,363 people) have been affected in various districts and 10,256 families (46,562 people) have been displaced all over Nepal.
Due to the unceasing heavy rainfall, a disastrous landslide had swept away some of our mission field leaders’ houses, livestock, and farms resulting in massive loss. Currently, they are sharing shelters and living in temporary shelters built with leaves and straws.
One of our mission field believers, states, “In the middle of the night as it was happening, first, I didn’t believe my eyes. I felt like I was sleeping, and someone was dragging me and my bed. Later, As I realized my house’s roof was gone, I looked up at the mountain back of my house and I saw that it was sliding down towards me. People were screaming and the sky was thundering and echoing through the hills. As the water began to rise above my legs, I realized everything was for real. Then, I screamed and immediately asked for God’s presence. Later, I called out my family members’ names and started searching for them. I felt like it was the second coming of Jesus.”
We are grateful to our Lord for all the partners who have provided urgent food relief of 30kg sacks of rice to 112 families in the remote villages of the Himalayas. We also deposited some allocated funds for future emergencies in the Village Development Committee’s treasury. Also, we handed over $50 to nine different families who have completely lost everything and are now struggling to survive.
As Nepal is still under strict lockdown and proper social distancing, our RHMI team provided food relief four times consecutively to a group of 25 people.
Due to the distribution of the food relief program, many non-believers have restored their faith in the goodness of the believers which has marked a great impact on Christians in the villages. In places, the local government authorities have personally thanked and appreciated our humanitarian support and concern to the villagers.
Travel to the devastated place near the border which is not connected by proper roads, required 17 hours of continuous walking and by motorbikes when possible. Due to incessant rainfall, the roads continued to remain highly damaged and extremely hard to access. Several times as our RHMI team was traveling to the place, they fell off their motorbikes due to terribly rough roads or trails, encountered landslides, hit by stones falling from above their heads, and pushed each other’s motorbikes as they struggled to get out of the mud. Due to extreme difficulty in driving they had to park the motorbikes at one of our believer’s houses and walk to the bordering place. Finally, after risking their lives during their travel they managed to reach the remote village. We are so grateful and appreciate their perseverance and dedication.
Since hilly regions are more likely to have major destruction by annual heavy rainfall, our beloved RHMI family members are serving the Lord in dangerous places. We are concerned about hundreds of those unsaved lives who have yet to hear the Gospel. We have much concern for those small children who must raise cattle and graze livestock in the steep mountains in such harsh conditions.
Presently, they are without any roof over their heads or proper shelter. The government has committed to providing but still has not managed to provide enough provisions to the people in that high place near the border. We do what we can to help our people.
RHMI is praying for help for building a proper shelter for 9 bereaved families.
A massive landslide in Sankhuwasabha had partially dammed the Arun River, leaving downstream settlements at risk of flooding including our mission field.
The dam caused by the landslide was 16 – 33 feet high and 131 feet wide. The river dangerously started eroding the dam about 1,950 feet above the riverbank. The landslide swept away many houses, livestock, and farmland.
Due to inaccessible roads in this area, many families cannot get immediate relief. Hunger pains affect the stomachs of little children as they cry for food.
Nine bereaved families are in urgent need of shelter. Currently, they are sharing their temporary shelters built with straw and bamboo leaves which itself is at high risk.
It is common for shelters in this area to be built with bamboo, local timbers, straw, and if possible, an aluminum metal roof that costs about $1700 including transportation costs.
