SRT Field Report: Nepal floods, August 2007
The first SRT members from the United States formed the majority of the initial team sent to Nepal after the country was his by extensive monsoon floods in 2007.
John & Trannie Lacquey: We arrived home on Sept 1st - three weeks from the day we left for Nepal. We hope we can put into words our thoughts and the knowledge we gained on this deployment to give you some insight into what we experienced.
We delivered 137 boxes in a three-day period to six different villages. The group of church pastors we worked with had obtained a list from the Red Cross of every village in Nepal affected by the flood. This listed the number of families and people in each village, as well as the number of men, women and children - invaluable information in planning our dispersements to the most needy.
Yes, we did wade a river and on the return trip we waded this river in the dark. We got rained on and we got wet. We went through the jungle where there are said to be tigers and elephants - even though we didn't see any and we were in a truck on the road the whole time.
We went through military check points, met an incredible young man who is a member of the Maoist Army and 19 incredible young men that were members of the Nepal Army.
We met some wonderful people. We ate with these people twice. They prepared a meal in our honor and to not eat would have been an insult. Afterwards they fed out leftovers to a goat, who licked the plate clean. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
But it was deployment for Shelterbox - It's SRT and we're part of it. And there are many images we got from this that we will never forget:
Seeing people waiting on a river bank where the bridge had been washed out. People whose homes have been destroyed. Waiting to carry shelterboxes across that river then walk two miles to their camp and seeing a line of green boxes on the backs of men and women, some young, some old, going down a trail.
It's about watching a young girl struggle to carry a full box on her back and knowing it's important for her and all of them to do this for themselves. It's about seeing these families standing around in the pouring rain to get their supplies from ShelterBox and then in turn helping their neighbors with theirs.
Seeing a group of Nepalese people dedicated to helping their fellow countrymen with selflessness and dedication. Seeing people so poor it's almost incomprehensible and yet seeing beautiful, happy children and incredible smiles on the women. Seeing the sacrificies these people who have so little make so their children can go to school.
It's seeing boxes loaded on a boat to go across the river at sunset to a village on the other side. ShelterBoxes which a group of Army guys talked the boatmen into carrying across and loaded on the boat for us.
It's coming home with memories both good and bad and with memories of the friends you have made and the lives you have touched and with the good impressions you left with them of ShelterBox.
It's knowing that it wasn't fun, that it was hot, tiring and dirty but that you would go back tomorrow to help in any way you possible can and thanking God that you can do this. It's reminding yourself constantly that it's not about you it's about helping those in need. It's service above self.
It's hard to put into words the emotions, hights and lows you experience in this situation. It's wearing those blue shirts day after day and being approached by people and answering their guestons and knowing you have been a good ambassador for Rotary and Shelterbox.
It's called service and no one does it quite like ShelterBox and we are proud to be SRT. Thank you ShelterBox for your dedication to this project and your confidence in us to send us on this deployment.
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