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Aid delivered to Nepal's most isolated in race against monsoon
Oxfam is working with mountain guides and porters to deliver life-saving aid to most remote communities in Nepal, one month since it was first hit by a devastating earthquake, before the imminent monsoon hits the country
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xfam is working with mountain guides and porters to deliver life-saving aid to most remote communities in Nepal, one month since it was first hit by a devastating earthquake, before the imminent monsoon hits the country.
Mountain guides and porters are assisting the international aid agency with its relief delivery in the Gorkha district, one of the worst hit by the earthquake, where up to 90 percent of the homes have been destroyed and communities have been cut off by landslides.
'We have called upon the knowledge and experience of Nepal's famous mountain guides to make sure the aid gets through to those who need it the most,' Oxfam's Nepal earthquake response head, Orla Murphy, said in a release on Monday.
On May 17, the first team of porters and mountain guides trekked from devastated Barpak, the epicenter of the first earthquake, for over four hours to reach Laprak, a hamlet 2,700m above sea level. They were carrying tarpaulins and hygiene kits -- the equivalent of almost 2.5 tons of aid materials -- to displaced people.
Oxfam says it is now planning similar activities to reach other isolated communities as soon as possible, since the monsoon could hit anytime in the next four weeks.
"We must do everything we can to provide people with the assistance they need before the monsoon hits. There is no time to waste," Murphy said.
In the last month, two large earthquakes and more than 100 aftershocks have devastated Nepal, killing over 8,600 people and affecting millions. (ebf)
