Sunday, May 27, 2012

Helping Aurahi to rebuild from the ashes


On 15th of May when the terai plains of Nepal were tinder hot, and there was a strong wind blowing, a fire that started from an individual's home soon engulfed large parts of Aurahi Village Development Committee (VDC) of Siraha district in the Eastern Region.  A total of 1075 houses in five wards of Aurahi VDC were razed, thus affecting approximately 500 families. The fire that started in the afternoon, was fanned by the strong winds and spared nothing in its path.  The adobe mud huts, many with thatched roofs, were burnt down completely. The few concrete structures in the village, were comparatively less damaged.  

The fire spread so quickly that most people were not able to save any belongings-- valuables, equipment, food, clothing, books.  The victims are currently living in the open in the scorching heat near their burnt down homes under roofing sheets provided by Nepal Red Cross Society. Temperatures in Aurahi hit 42 degrees Celsius  in daytime.  
UNICEF has been responding as per the assessment and request made by the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) of Siraha, which is coordinating the relief efforts with its many partners in the district, including Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), UNICEF and Save the Children.
The DDRC with the NRCS, along with local social workers were on the scene first, providing immediate relief needs for shelter, protection and food.
 NRCS volunteers distribution non food items. The tarpaulins they provided to the fire victims can be seen in the backdrop
Police were mobilised to assist in the distribution of relief items
UNICEF and Save the Children staff members had conducted a joint mission along with the District Disaster Relief Committee members in Aurahi to assess the relief needs and gaps. The most urgent needs were that of shelter, food and clothing. Although the two schools located in other wards were spare, the children attending those schools from the affected areas, as well as their teachers, lost all their school supplies. The only clothes that most people had, were the ones on their backs. Below are Arinita Maskey and Bipul Basnet of UNICEF with Dhruba Devkota of Save the Children. 
Anirudra Sharma, who was part of the assessment team had also checked the nutrition status of children and babies in Aurahi. 

 The DDRC requested UNICEF to provide  hygiene kits, schools kits, medicated bednets,  water purification items, clothes for women and children, and also to set up temporary toilets. Save the Children would provide education kits, bathing spaces and safe spaces for children.
UNICEF Eastern Region Field Office in Biratnagar, with support from the Country Office, and in coordination with the UN Field Coordination Unit, sprang into action to meet the immediate needs of the Aurahi fire victims. Below  Bipul Basnet, Emegency Focal Point in the Biratnagar field Office begins to check pre-positioned stock. Biratnagar lies about 200 Km east of Siraha.
Hygiene kits are adjusted to meet the needs of the fire victims
Clothing items are added to the kits... Everybody pitches in to help.. the office staff too
 .. and then packed into sacks
 The packed sacks are then ferried to the waiting truck
 Field office staff, including field office chief, Sunita Kayastha (in far lest) watch the truck being loaded
...arranging the sacks...
Next to go in are school kits
 "Humanitarian relief material for Aurahi fire victims" in UNICEF blue needed to be spelled out boldly on the truck as the terai area is still reeling under banda (closure of roads and businesses) with demands preceding deadline for promulgation of new Constitution in 27 May. The front of the truck...
.. and back...
The truck finally sets off for Siraha with another UNICEF vehicle in lead.
The supplies, including hygiene kits and longer lasting insecticide nets (LLIN) arrived in Aurahi, and two days later were ready for distribution in the village.
People queued up to receive the relief materials with special relief related IDs in hand provided by the DDRC
The distribution was systematic and transparent. Anu Gautam helps in the verification of the relief ID card...
... and then in the distribution of the materials...
NRCS  and UNICEF staff tell people about the content of the medicated bednets and hygiene kit and utilise the moment to reiterate the importance of hygiene and sanitation
.. The people listen with interest as well as amusement...
Some are provided with one to one advice too
A recipient with the LLNI and hygiene kit. NRCS volunteers helped distribute 697 bednets and 461 hygiene kits
All smiles going through the contents of the kit
Meanwhile relief and maintenance work have been carried out by Save the Children. Below masons and labourers setting up the first of the 20 bathing spaces.
Tube well installed by Save the Children to meet the safe water needs in the village
Setting up a safe space for children by Save
UNICEF team members, including Madhav Pahari, third from left, sit down with Relief Coordination Committee members, NRCS and Save officials to discuss about the installation of community latrines that UNICEF will support. In order to stop open defecation being practiced in the community, and to control possible outbreak of diseases, with monsoon around the corner, it was decided to immediately build toilets in the affected settlements. Due to lack of space in the settlement, 80 common toilets will be constructed @ two toilets for 10 families (one for males, and the other for females).  Meanwhile, steps have been taken for a month-long WASH, Health & Nutrition promotion programme  in the community. The Primary Health Care Centre in Aurahi will distribute 1500 kgs of supplementary food provided by UNICEF through the District Health Office of Siraha to children under 5, lactating and pregnant mothers.

…So Aurahi tries to rise out its ashes, with a little bit of help from others...
Reports and pictures from the field by Anirudra Sharma, Anu Gautam,Arinita Maskey, Bipul Basnet, Madhav Pahari & Nathuni Mochi 

Sunday, May 6, 2012

And now it's a match with Chowdhary Group

Today the Boys in Blue had a match with Chowdhary Group in the T20 Corporate Premier League Tournament.  After the performance of their first match and the damage to muscles of the main players had made many think that the match would be a wipe out... but today the Boys played better-- batted better, bowled and fielded better too... even if it meant the main players, including Binoy and Will hobbled about.. Will for the entire innings...

Will and Binoy follow the CG team to the crease...
The day was a beautiful one.. with clear blue skies and a mild breeze...
 Binoy with the bat.  Today they had decided not to go for singles, rather concentrate on shots for boundary..
 CG bowler in action as Will looks on...
After a few shots, Binoy was caught leg before wicket...
He gives tips to Krishna while heading for the pavilion...
 Will and Krishna stayed on the crease for the remaining overs. Running less between the wicket and concentrating more on trying to send the ball beyond the ropes...
Will waits on the other end...
 Dosro pramukh in action...

 
And here is how Will was hobbling,
 
Krishna on the pitch... 
 
Will & Krishna celebrate the partnership of 50 runs
 ... huddle huddle..  
Krishna drives...
 
... and taps...
  Will lobs...
.. and sweeps...
 All reflected in Balaram's glasses
 Captain Binoy says,"With better fielding we could have won yesterday!"

 Finally the target for the blue and yellow team to chase.. 116.  Will and Krishna were both not out at 54 and 40 respectively
 A Herculean task for the dosro pramukh
 .. and his sarathi.. Krishna!
 .. the official cameraperson.. with her hardware
 lunch break for the team members...
 .. and then back to the oval for fielding...
 Will says he always does things and like things in 3s.. including the 3 paracetamol tablets he took before going to the crease!
 Binoy guides his fielders
Sushil bowls from the pavilion end...

 Krishna in the sidelines.. the new Ayurvedic campus in the back
 Narendra ready for a catch
 Binoy is the crouching tiger
 ... an appeal to the umpire
 .. Sushil bowls again...
 Will comes to cheer the team from the sidelines
 The Boys in Blue were very slick with their fielding today.. except for the odd fumble...
 Bibek chases a ball that slips over the ropes for a four
.. soon he knocks off the left stump... a wicket down...
 .. celebration...
 Team Manager Yendra is all smiles as he prepares to pump in glucose water to his players...
 Bibek, the one with a wicket under his belt...
 Junior Rana Magar on the other end of the field...
 technical break for some drinks 
 Junior Sunar clicks his dad in action at the crease...
... of course he finds other things to click as well...
 
 Will with commentators
 Break time...
 ... then Will was invited to be a guest commentator...
 
... and he did a pretty good job!
 
.. Meanwhile the Boys in Blue battle on... here's Binoy behind the wicket...
 Sushil's still at it.. trying to get a wicket...
 Balaram waits for ball to come to him...
 ... Pradiumna on the side...
 UNICEF support team 'neath the tent...
 .. and before noon the game's over... 
 CG reached the total with the loss of just a single wicket...
 .. the umpires head back for the pavilion..
 .. and the Boys in Blue shake hands with those in red and yellow...
 .. and that was the stint of Corporate Cricket for 2012 for the UNICEF Blues team...