A song from the ruins of Nepal

May 2015, Nepal

Our volunteers are on the ground in Nepal offering aid. Below is an account from Amma’s representative Br. Nijamrita, who is our relief coordinator for Nepal. We received this recording from the field. Both the recording and the story behind it touched us so much we felt the need to share.

“We have visited many villages in the Nepalese districts of Sindhupalchowk, Kavre and Novakot. At some point of time the villages must have looked distinct and different; now they all look the same.

“There are similar scenes of desolation everywhere. Hardly anything is left of the villages; almost no houses or buildings remain standing. Where there were once settlements, there are now mounds of rubble. Even bigger towns and cities like Bhaktapur and Saku have seen large scale devastation. Vast stretches of city blocks have crumbled. Even in cities where the homes are made of steel and cement, everything is in ruins. The only indication that there once was a building in an empty lot is a pile of heaped rubble.

“After the quake, many have stayed outdoors, salvaging what little they could of their former roofs to build makeshift shelters. Acharya Tol was one of the settlements we provided tin roofing to. In just a day, the villagers can put up these sheets to create temporary shelters, which will at least protect them from the unseasonal intermittent rainstorms. In the future, the roofing sheets can be used as part of their new permanent homes.

“While the world may view the conditions of Nepal as hopeless and dark, for these resilient people, it is not so. Outside one of the ruined homes, one man, Prashant Acharya showed me his house stating proudly, ‘This was my home!’ In the conversation that followed I asked him what he did professionally and he responded that he was a singer who sang at nightclubs. At that moment, he burst into a love song, gesturing with his hands and singing in a beautiful voice.”

Related Links:
Emergency Relief for Nepal