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Recent efforts of Kopan Helping Hands have been in the Dolakha District in Northeast Nepal. This district has been most affected by the earthquake and is very difficult to obtain access to. Photo courtesy of Kopan Facebook page.
Kopan Monastery and Nunnery have been actively involved since the very beginning with relief efforts for those devastated by the Nepal earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. The Nepal Earthquake Support Fund, set up by FPMT International Office at the request of Ven. Roger Kunsang immediately following the earthquake, has been offering grants to the work of Kopan Helping Hands which continues to offer ongoing aid to those in need, despite danger and difficulty.
Geshe Thubten Jinpa continues to help with the relief efforts and keep up on updates regarding the work of Kopan Helping Hands. In a recent report, he outlined that 66 pounds of rice, cooking oil and salt was offered to families from 481 collapsed households in Dolakha District, Northeast Nepal. He reported that individuals walked twelve miles to the distribution center to collect this aid. Kopan Helping Hands was also able to offer each family 300 Nepalese Rupees for traveling expenses.
Recently Kopan Helping Hands has been able to help families from over 3,705 households in the Kathmandu surrounding districts, offering bulk food items such as rice, cooking oil, salt and mattresses and also covering traveling expenses for the families to get the aid.
Birds-eye view of the devastation of the Dolakha District of Nepal where Kopan Helping Hands is currently focusing relief efforts toward. Photo courtesy of Kopan Facebook page.
Geshe Jinpa explains:
“Our current major working area is in Dolakha District. It is the most affected area and road access to whole region was disrupted for a very long time after the earthquake. As soon as the road accessibility was possible the monsoon season began and the delivery of the relief became tough. We had to find the needed materials in local markets and some needed to place orders from outside the city and even from India. Things are then imported to Kathmandu in bigger lorries and shifted to the affected area. Not all destinations can be reached by road so items are transported by smaller vehicle up to where there is the accessibility of the road. Road to the villages are very primary it can be disrupted at any moment. If we have rain for a day landslides will occur everywhere and the vehicles get stuck in the mud. So we must load and unload the things, pushing and pulling of trucks is needed for every single delivery. The trucks, which carry the supply, got stuck in the landslide for two days and we managed to clear the road using another dodger. Four of our monks are stationed in one of most dangerous places since last week and they keep on work of distribution despite heavy rain and fear of landslides and flood. They have to be on the field to collect the data of affected people and find a most effective place for the distribution and called people from villages to the distribution center. Some people even have to walk for days to receive the relief materials. Our volunteer monks on the ground are struggling to make distributions swift and effective while coordinating with local people and authorities.“
Despite all of this, Kopan Helping Hands continues to offer this much needed support to those in dire need. Please rejoice in this inspiring and courageous effort by the monks and nuns of Kopan who are working extremely hard and tirelessly for the benefit of others.
Thank you also to all the kind donors who are helping to make this aid possible.
To learn more and offer support to FPMT’s Nepal Earthquake Support Fund, which will be used for immediate relief and rebuilding: https://fpmt.org/support/socialservices/id.
Kopan Monastery is accepting donations for their ongoing work, mention “Kopan Helping Hands” in the comments: http://www.kopanmonastery.com/earthquake
For “Prayers and Practice for Earthquake in Nepal,” see:
https://fpmt.org/edu-news/prayers-and-practices-for-earthquake-in-nepal/
For continuing updates and news from Kopan Monastery and other FPMT centers and projects in Nepal affected by the earthquake, please visit our “Updates from Nepal after the Earthquake”page:
https://fpmt.org/nepal-earthquake/