Food to the Mountaintop: Feeding Disaster Victims in Nepal
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On Wednesday I went to Barpak, Nepal's largest village. The region is one of the most beautiful on earth, with the snow-covered Himalayan mountains stretching in front of you like a curtain. But when you look down on the ground, what you see is heartbreaking. Seventy dead -- and what were once houses, now just piles of stones. Not one is habitable. There are landslides in every direction. The epicenter of the first earthquake is visible; you can see how the mountain moved, creating two steps. We were there to deliver much-needed food. But that is only part of the story.
A year of invisible progress
To the casual observer, it seems like nothing has happened in Nepal over the last year. But looks can be deceiving.
A year ago, a series of earthquakes shook the very core of Nepal, killing thousands and leaving tens of thousands without food, shelter or medical care. Reading last weekend’s news reports, it seems that very little progress has been made. Politics and red tape have combined with poor infrastructure—Nepal lacks roads and equipment and communication networks as well as solid emergency procedures—making rebuilding a tortuously slow process.