The Salvation Army's response to the Nepal earthquake

Update: 4 August 2015
A significant milestone has been reached in The Salvation Army's ongoing response to Cyclone Pam on Vanuatu with the completion of the first shelter. Three remote villages on Tanna Island are initially being provided with 15 shelters each, with more to be constructed elsewhere. The project is one of a number implemented by The Salvation Army in partnership with Liberty for the Nations, a Christian relief agency that has been working on Tanna Island since the early 1990s.

Salvation Army International Emergency Services team member Captain Dale Murray, from Australia Eastern Territory, visited Tanna Island to monitor the progress of the project. While there, he had the privilege to see the first shelter completed and meet its new occupants – David, his wife and three children.

 
Update: 23 June 2015
ALMOST two months after the 25 April earthquake that caused devastation in Nepal, The Salvation Army continues its vital response. This week a shipment of 1,000 high-quality tents arrived from Pakistan, just in time for distribution before the worst of the monsoon rains arrive.

The first batch of 60 tents has already been given out, including to families who can now live on land next to their destroyed houses, enabling them to begin the rebuilding process. Local community members joined forces to erect the tents, quickly providing much-needed shelter

 
Update: 21 May 2015
MORE than three weeks on from the earthquake that brought devastation to Nepal, the Salvation Army response team is still expanding its programme. The small team, ably supported by local Salvationists and volunteers, has also been boosted by the arrival of Bobby Myers (USA Eastern Territory), Captain Petr Janousek (The Netherlands and Czech Republic Territory) and Amanda Narango, a volunteer from the USA.

Damaris Frick (Field Operations Officer, International Emergency Services) reveals that Bobby had no time to get his feet on the ground – on his first day he was up in the mountains in a helicopter!

The partnerships formed with other organisations are proving to be vital, especially as many remote communities can only be reached by helicopter. In the Sindhupalchok District, The Salvation Army is working with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) which offers reduced rates to non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

 
Update: 18th May
As The Salvation Army's disaster response in Nepal continues to grow, Damaris Frick – from The Salvation Army's International Emergency Services – has provided an overview of the many activities currently taking place, along with an insight into the way the international team is fully sharing with the people of Nepal, especially as they recover from a second major earthquake.

The relief operations underway can loosely be separated into urban and rural projects. Broadly speaking, the urban ministry – in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur – is centred around camps for displaced people, including camp management roles and the provision of food, shelter and water. In rural areas, The Salvation Army is supplying food and shelter to remote communities in Ramechhap and Sindhupalchok Districts and around northern Gorka.

 
Update: 14th May
As The Salvation Army emergency response team in Nepal continues to provide assistance to a number of urban and rural communities, video footage has been released that makes clear the dangerous situations being faced by team members alongside the people of the south Asian country.

Michael Andrew, from the American state of Hawaii, first worked as a volunteer with The Salvation Army after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He has since undergone the organisation's PREPARE emergency response training, and has made himself available as an emergency responder. In Nepal, he has been at the heart of the ministry to people living in remote mountain communities in Sindhupalchok District – many of which are impossible to reach by road.

 
Update: 13 May 2015
THE Salvation Army's emergency response team in Nepal has carried out its first large-scale distribution, taking essential food items to members of remote mountain communities. 

Helped by some local volunteers, team members in Kathmandu loaded a truck with rice, dhal, oil and salt and drove it to Sindupalchok District. The district is not far from Kathmandu but remains one of the least developed areas of Nepal.

 
Update: 11 May 2015
THE Salvation Army's emergency response team in Nepal has carried out its first large-scale distribution, taking essential food items to members of remote mountain communities. 
Helped by some local volunteers, team members in Kathmandu loaded a truck with rice, dhal, oil and salt and drove it to Sindupalchok District. The district is not far from Kathmandu but remains one of the least developed areas of Nepal.

 
Update: 6th May 2015
THE Salvation Army's emergency team in Nepal is planning a number of distributions, working in camps that have been set up for people who have lost their homes and also in previously unreached communities.

Some of the main initial work is taking place in and around the capital, Kathmandu. The team has received official permission from the Chief District Officer to work in Durbar Square Camp, which currently hosts approximately 1,200 people (100 families). The camp is in Bhaktapur, next to an ancient city – listed as a World Heritage Centre by UNESCO – which used to have beautiful palace courtyards, temples, wood, metal and stone artwork.

 
Update: 3rd May 2015
THE Salvation Army team in Nepal is reaching out to remote communities which have not received outside help. One group headed to Sindhupal, where there is no power, taking shovels and axes to help villagers who are trying to excavate bodies that have been buried in collapsed buildings. The village is very difficult to reach because of landslides and floods caused by the earthquake.

 
Update: 1st May 2015
The first supplies have reached The Salvation Army's emergency response team in Nepal, meaning that large-scale distribution can begin. The initial response will be to two devastated communities near Kathmandu.

A team from India arrived on Thursday (30 April) with a delivery of 700 boxes of bottled water, totalling 8,400 litres, and 130 boxes of noodles (almost 6,000 packets). Young volunteers from The Salvation Army in Nepal worked tirelessly to get the goods off the truck and into storage. Bags of rice, lentils, oil and salt were also purchased locally.