Namaste

Namaste! (General Nepalese greeting)

Firstly, thank you for visiting this blog.  I’ve just arrived at our base in Kathmandu and I’ll do my best to share some stories and pictures (internet permitting!) about the work we’ll be doing and the encouraging people that I’m sure we meet.

As you know, Nepal experienced a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 which killed and injured many thousands of Nepalese people, and affected many times more.  A second earthquake of 7.3 magnitude struck on May 12 which caused further damage to the already fragile region. 

I will be working in country over the next four weeks as part of Samaritan’s Purse (SP) Disaster Assistance Response Team, primarily focusing on the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) requirements in four districts around Kathmandu that the local government has assigned to SP.

Below is a slightly outdated but still useful quick visual summarizing some of high level targets that our team will be working to reach.

A big thanks for all of the support I've received in the lead up to my departure from family, friends, church and work.  It’s a great encouragement to have such a strong support base and I’d very much appreciate your continued support and prayers during the next few weeks, but also beyond, as this is just the start of a long rebuilding process for Nepal. 

For more information on the Nepal response efforts, see attached link to SP’s webpage. http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/rss/disaster-relief/asia/deadly-earthquake-in-nepal.aspx#.VWA7yk9Viko

I’ve also included the link to Engineering Ministries International’s (eMi) webpage for their ongoing response involvement as I’ve previously and continue to be fortunate enough to work alongside this great organization.  http://www.emiworld.org/disasterresponse_nepal.php

Dhanyabad, (Thank you)

Wes