Today, our team worked inside a temporary housing complex near Kathmandu where 225 displaced Nepali Christians have relocated since the earthquakes.
These people are from Chaku Village, a remote mountain community that suffered severe damage from landslides during and after the quakes . . . a village that is particularly dear to my heart.
World Help has worked alongside the people of Chaku for 15 years through various outreach projects including church planting, Bible distribution, child sponsorship, and more. In fact, Chaku was the first village in Nepal that we ever built a church . . . and now, they have lost everything they have. Many of their loved ones perished. Their homes, churches, and schools have been buried under mountains of rubble . . . the devastation and heartbreak is beyond words.
Take a moment right now to watch this brief video update:
Watch From the Field in Nepal | Chaku from World Help on Vimeo.
My dear friend and World Help partner Pastor Kam has worked tirelessly to build this housing complex to serve as a temporary living space for displaced Chaku families.
For weeks, the homeless were sleeping on the ground under tarps, which provided little safety or protection from the elements. Thankfully, they now have the comfort of sleeping under a solid structure strong enough to withstand the numerous tremors and aftershocks that are still hitting the area with frightening regularity. The new location also makes it possible for the children to return to school, which would be impossible if they remained in Chaku.
Even so, because of the overwhelmingly desperate situation, the living conditions within the complex are terribly cramped. As you saw in the video, large families like the Ghisings, although very thankful, have no other choice but to sleep in these overcrowded rooms until their homes in Chaku are rebuilt.
I was deeply humbled when this family—who I had come to serve—presented me with a scarf and garland of flowers (a sign of great honor in Nepal) as I arrived.
These people have lost their home and, most likely, even the land their home was on due to mudslides . . . and yet they sacrificed and gave from the little they still had. As I left, I looked into the eyes of the mother and father and placed the scarf and flowers around their necks. “You are the ones who deserve to be honored,” I said. I will never forget that moment.
Our teams continued to work throughout the day to distribute aid items—fish, rice, salt, sugar, cooking oil, soap, detergent, and more—to Chaku families, all of whom were extremely grateful. (We even were able to provide shoe polish, which is important because in order to attend school in Nepal, all children must have their shoes shined.)
I was also able to share some encouraging words and pray with the community, asking that God would raise up people in America to walk alongside the Nepali people as they rebuild their lives.
Without an outpouring of outside support, millions in this region will remain homeless and destitute for weeks, months, and even years. Without new schools, an entire generation of children will forfeit their futures. Churches and wells must be repaired and reopened to provide the necessity of clean water and the hope of Living Water.
We have a lot of work to do. It’s going to take every single one of us working together to help rebuild what the earthquakes have destroyed here in Nepal.
Please join me in praying today for the people of Chaku. And then, please consider giving toward the cost of rebuilding this community. Every prayer and every dollar makes a difference.
Let us learn from the example of the Ghising family who gave their best to honor a stranger, even out of their poverty. The least I can do—the least we can all do—is to give out of our abundance to those whose lives and futures are on the line.
Stand with me today in rebuilding the future of Nepal.
