Nepal Church Provides Relief For Flood Victims

KATHMANDU (UCAN) -- The Catholic Church is providing food, medicine and relief materials for people affected by heavy flooding in eastern Nepal.

Father Silas Bogati, director of Caritas Nepal, the Church's social service agency, told UCA News on Sept. 2 that Caritas is "doing whatever we can to help the thousands of victims." Following heavy rainfall, the Saptakoshi River breached its embankments on Aug. 18, flooding densely populated villages in the southeastern districts of Sunsari and Saptari. The Nepali government estimates 107,000 people have been affected. No deaths due to the flooding have been reported, but six people had died from exposure-related diseases in temporary camps across Sunsari district, The Himalayan Times reported on Sept. 2 Figures from the Nepal Red Cross Society indicate that 85,000 people were displaced in that district alone. "We are providing food, other relief materials and medicine worth 160,000 dollars on both the flooded banks of the river," Father Bogati reported. Sunsari is on the eastern bank and Saptari on the western. The number of people arriving at makeshift relief camps keeps increasing by the day, the priest said, detailing problems Caritas faces in distributing aid. He cited registration of the displaced as another problem. "The displaced are not being registered properly, leading to others who live near the camps and in their surrounding areas claiming the relief materials," he explained. Speaking with UCA News on Sept. 1, Rajen Ghimire, coordinator of Caritas Nepal's Emergency Response Team, reported that Caritas had been able to mobilize aid within a few days. By Aug. 23, it had distributed 10 tons of rice, two tons of pulses and 4.5 tons of potatoes to some 15,000 displaced families in Sunsari staying in about 30 makeshift camps. In Saptari, it distributed 4,000 flashlights, 24,000 batteries and 4,000 mosquito nets among 4,000 families. Ghimire said the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who have a house in Dharan, Sunsari, want to work with Caritas and provide medical assistance in Saptari but have not been able to cross the river due to the floodwaters. They want to work in Saptari because medical aid is not reaching the displaced people there, he continued. From Dharan, Nazareth Sister Sarita Manavalan told UCA News on Sept. 1: "We are collecting clothes and money from parishioners and Catholic schools. We will hand them over to an organization that is working directly with the flood victims." Binod Gurung, president of Nepal Catholic Society, the legal entity that represents the local Catholic Church, said parishes, mission stations and Catholic schools across the county are collecting clothes and money. St. Mary's School in Kathmandu has already collected money and handed it over to a private relief fund, according to Father George Kalapurackal, parish priest of Assumption Church, the main parish in Kathmandu. He said a "collection drive" for money and relief material in the capital is ongoing. Meanwhile, Ghimire described government relief efforts as low-key. "It seems the government is mostly dependent on NGOs for relief work," he observed. Moreover, floodwaters have damaged portions of the main highway through the affected, bringing all transportation to a halt, he reported. "It is hard to say how many people have been displaced in all, as every day hundreds of flood victims cross over to Nepal through the open border from neighboring Bihar state in India." The Saptakoshi, which flows into India, where it is known as the Kosi, also flooded northern parts of Bihar. Floodwaters washed away hundreds of villagers, along with houses, cattle and crops, when the Kosi changed its course after breaching its banks in Nepal, inundating downstream areas in India not used to flooding. More than 3 million people in some 1,700 villages have been affected in India. At least 56 people have died in the floods, according to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, and more than 220,000 houses have been damaged, but Church people and local officials in Bihar fear many more may have died.