Nepal is a different country to the place i knew one month ago. What was ment to be a wonderful day for the mountain community celebrating their new library, was instead a surreal experience. We stood on the same spot on the same day where the ceremonies were due to take place and instead looked over a school, village and community destroyed. One of tens of thousands of villages that only days earlier had their world turned upside down.
The past four weeks have been extremely challenging and very exhausting. Since Active Hearts Himalaya became an emergency aid and relief team we have worked tirelessly to get food, meds, shelter and some hope to our guides, porters, friends and families in the mountain areas affected by the earthquake. It has taken its toll on the team. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, infection, fever, dsyntary and then some have been apart of this journey. The emotional fatigue is a big hurdle we have all had to push through at times.
On our facebook page 'Active Hearts Himalaya' you can follow all the updates and pictures as we work from Kathmandu to the hills. In this present moment we have moved on from immediate relief. We are now rebuilding and upgrading the irrigation systems in the village area. A project that will be an important lifeline for 2000+ folk during monsoon and beyond. We are also working with these monsoon shelter designs from the good guys at http://www.portalbikes.org/shelters/
The kind hearted village folk, the endless smiles and endless tea we are always presented with remind us that this is worth sticking it out for. Many tourists hopped on the first flight out of Nepal when disaster struck. There is nothing wrong with that. But we want our donors, friends and families to know, we are here for the long run. We will all need to go back to our different corners of the world to reset, recharge and reconnect with our own families, but we will be back next season. And the one after that.
Thank you all again for your generous donations. Their are some beautiful people out here, mothers, grandfathers, children, animals and more for which you are providing a chance. We are making a difference out there.
So now, its back to work.
Peace and love
Dan x
