An Inside Look at the Emergency Relief Camp in Kavre, Nepal
Since Nepal’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake on April 25th, SOS Children’s Villages has been working tirelessly to provide direct necessities, such as shelter, food and medical care, to the disaster’s victims. As of May 4, 2015 we have presence in 9 of 11 regions affected.
Kavre is one such town in the heart of the disaster where SOS has been delivering services on the ground. One remarkable aspect of this relief camp in particular is the dedication of SOS Youth from the SOS Children’s Villages.
Commitment and compassion must be present to provide physical and emotional support to dozens of people, and these youth have plenty of it. They are on their feet all day, distributing medicine, preparing and serving food; some of them are still as young as thirteen.
The camp currently can hold a few hundred people, and while some victims of the camp are not confined to the tents and able to line up for their meals, the SOS Youth line up for the meals of those unable to get their own food.
In the urgent care tent, a patient and gentle girl of thirteen feeds food to an injured girl of limited mobility, while on the other end of the tent another SOS Youth does the same for an elderly woman.
Here there is a sense of relief for the victims simply in knowing that they are well cared for after the chaos of natural disaster.
At the end of the line of tents, SOS Youth look after infants and children in a Child Friendly Space.
Here the teens eagerly develop their own parental and nurturing instincts, preparing themselves for their own independence and responsibilities.
These young babysitters and safe spaces “allow for parents to focus on finding stability in the aftermath of this disaster, while ensuring their children are safe”, explains Shankar Pradhananga, National Director of SOS Nepal.
The already established SOS Social Centre in Kavre will be crucial in helping families find this long-term stability through programs such as skills training, as workplaces affected by the disaster close.
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More news on SOS Children's VIllages' response to the Nepal Earthquake Emergency