2020 marks the 5th anniversary of the terrible earthquake in Nepal. The catastrophe claimed 9,000 lives, injured 22,000 people and caused incalculable material damage. The earthquake affected many rural and poor villages with very limited resources to overcome the tragedy.
Our Nepal specialist Berta Navarro did not sit idly by and decided to do her part. This is the story of Dawa and his family, a story of broken hearts, but of hope and courage.
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The day everything changed
North of Kathmandu in the village of Langtang (3430m), lives Dawa, his wife Targen and their daughter. After many years of hard work and effort, they built their lovely house where they used to host hikers visiting the magical Langtang National Park.
Dawa:
On April 25, 2015, Dawa is on his way home on a local bus when the earthquake hits. 50 eternal seconds of sheer panic. At the 51st second, the shaking stops but landslides have blocked the road. Dawa can’t get home or contact his family. He starts walking towards Dhunche where he finds an army post. It’s almost nighttime. The next day he will be taken back to his village but now it’s time to sleep. Or try.
Targen:
Targen, Dawa’s wife, is at home with her daughter when everything starts to collapse. From the window she sees huge stones rolling down from the top of the mountain. Without hesitation, she picks up her daughter and seeks shelter next to a huge rock beneath her house. A rock that keeps them safe. Targen describes it as if it happened a few days ago. She remembers people falling off cliffs, hit by huge stones. The panic and trauma experienced will remain recorded in their minds forever.
The spot where Targen and his daughter took shelter during the earthquake.
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Uncertainty after the disaster
Dawa is still in Dhunche unable to sleep, thinking about his family, disturbed by the constant aftershocks of the midday tremor. Finally, the morning of April 26 arrives and he impatiently climbs into the helicopter. It lands in what remains of the village of Langtang.
The devastation is total. Deaths and tears overflow the valley. Dawa focuses on finding his family and begins to walk on the earth that covers the entire village. There is no time to think about the tragedy around him, no time to stop.
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- Un manto de tierra y piedras cubre los caminos de Langtang.
He finally arrives home. There are no signs of his family. Only stones on the ground… and bodies. Bodies under the rocks, by the cliff, everywhere.
Trying to control his despair, Dawa remembers that from the helicopter, during the flight, he could see people in Goratabela (3030m), another military post an hour from his home. He starts running, dodging obstacles and enduring the aftershocks of the earthquake that continue to shake the area every few minutes.
He finally reaches Goratabela and in the middle of the chaos he sees the faces of his wife and daughter. His heart leaps and he cries in shock. The relief and happiness of finding his family is indescribable. But he realizes that many are missing: friends, neighbors, more relatives. The situation is devastating. People are scared.
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- Casa de Dawa antes del terremoto.
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- Casa tras el terremoto.
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- Casa tras el terremoto.
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What now?
They spend 4 days in Goratabela praying that none of the aftershocks will bring another landslide. The nights are cold and it doesn’t stop raining. They decide to move on and walk to Kenjing Gompa for shelter. Located at an altitude of 3830 meters, Kenjing is the last village at the end of the Langtang Valley. Like the entire area, the village
