By Iolanda Jaquemet — 16 June 2015
At the request of the Nepali authorities, the World Food Programme (WFP) collaborated with other United Nations agencies to airlift 60 children from a monastery that had been cut-off from the world by the two major earthquakes that struck Nepal in April and May.
Lho village, Gorkha district, Nepal - As soon as the helicopter took off, the boys and girls clad in saffron shirts and deep red robes, heads cleanly shaved, tightly clasped each other’s hands. A woman teacher reassured the youngest ones.
Leaving the rocky soil of the Himalayas for the first time, in a helicopter that was roaring and teetering between the vertical cliffs could have been a frightening experience for these village children. But the young faces, with rosy cheeks, showed little anxiety. They were future monks, Tibetan speaking Nepalis from a tough land, and they didn’t cry.
Shortly before WFP's helicopter took off from Lho, a small village at the foot of the Himalayas, the headmaster of the local monastery, Lopen Mygyur, explained why he had reached out to the authorities to evacuate his students. “Since the earthquake struck on 25 April, the trail to the lowlands has been cut off by landslides, and we have not had enough food for the monks and the students. As the monastery, the dormitories and the kitchen buildings have been badly damaged, we are all sleeping under tarpaulins. We were lucky that the earthquake came while we were having lunch on the grass. If this had happened while we were sleeping, many would have died,” he said.
Cut Off From The Outside World
In the days after the 25 April earthquake, the headmaster was able to speak by phone to many parents, most of whom lived in even more remote areas of northern Gorkha. When a strong aftershock tore through Nepal on 12 May, the cellphone tower collapsed and communications were cut. Some of the older students left on foot, braving the 5,000 metre Larke pass, but with incessant landslides, that route had now become too dangerous.
In early June, word of the monastery’s plight reached the Chief District Officer of Gorkha, where Lho is located, high amid a breathtaking circle of mountains. He in turn asked the United Nations for help. After consulting with the Nepal Central Child Welfare Board in Kathmandu (CCWB) and all the relevant district authorities, UNICEF and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) accepted to assist in the evacuation of 60 children, aged between five and 18 years.
WFP helicopters provided the logistical support. The helicopter made four rotations, bringing relief material to Lho, and taking the children, their caretakers, as well as a sick monk, to Deurali, the district headquarters.
Happy Landing
Upon landing in Deurali, adults and children alike burst into applause. “We requested WFP to rescue these children by helicopter, after coordinating with all the relevant Nepali authorities”, said Kamal Shrestha, Child Rights Officer who welcomed the group as they were disembarking from their 40-minute trip. “Once all the documentation on each child has been done, the CCWB will assess what is the best long-term solution, in accordance with government procedures.” First stop though for these children was a shower, some new clothes, and a hot meal.
Continuing To Help Nepal
The helicopter involved in this airlift operation is part of the common logistics service that WFP provides to the wider humanitarian community responding to the earthquake disaster. These services include a network of logistics hubs, helicopters, a fleet of trucks and telecommunications.
WFP has provided food to nearly two million people in areas hit hardest by the earthquake disaster. In coming weeks, the focus will shift to longer-term recovery for Nepal. WFP is now working with porters to bring food and other relief items to people in the highest-altitude areas. The goal is to also provide livelihoods to the porters and restore the areas vital trail network.
WFP is also distributing cash to survivors in areas where markets are functioning so they can purchase their own food, and establishing cash-for-work projects for removing rubble and preparing fields for the upcoming planting season.
Nepal’s high mountains and very difficult terrain make operations complex and expensive. WFP is grateful for contributions so far from: Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, and private donors.