In Dolpo no one was injured, but many buildings were destroyed. Luckily all the Tapriza students, teachers, and their families are okay as far as possible in this situation. The school building, however, is damaged. The ground under the westwing had sunk before the earthquake and made renovation necessary. Now the cracks have widened and the building, in which the dormitories of the boys and some teachers as well as classrooms are located, is not safe to live in anymore. At the moment the boys and teachers sleep in the Tapriza Gompa and the dinning room. The lessons are still held in the lower rooms, which concerns us. The entire westwing urgently needs rebuilding, for which we required your support.
The students in the Kathmandu hostel are also well. The Lainchaur office and the hostel in Jorpati were shaken badly. Our former student Nyima Gyaltsen, who was in Lainchaur in the office at the time the earthquake hit, describes the earthquake and the days after as follows:
“While I was watching television the earthquake came and I just stayed under the table. The walls of the house had been waving like trees. At the same time I tried to contact friends and our students, but the network was not available due to damage. I quickly went out of the house. For three days we stayed hungry, because we did not have enough food and water. I went to Swayambhu monastery (the Bonpo Triten Norbutse Gompa) and the monks there shared clothes and bed with me. Our students in Jorpati slept outside, when it started raining they had no plastic, raincoat or any covers, so they said “we did not sleep the whole night”. The wife of our vice-manager tried to get tents, but they were too expensive. She finally could manage a sleeping place under a church. We all just ate noodles and biscuits for high prices.”
The students and former students are now in the hostel again. It still needs to be evaluated if the building is safe to live in. Other former Tapriza students and their relatives, whose houses were destroyed or more severely damaged, have also moved into the hostel. Luckily, we invested in a pump last year, which is why they now still have access to water. The earth is still shaking and the monsoon is advancing.
WITH YOUR CONTRIBUTION you can help rebuild the buildings in Dolpo and the school,supply portable water filters (PAUL), improve the health situation as well as get necessary supplies for the students and their relatives in Kathmandu. We would also like to contribute to Dolakha and especially the village Chayarsaba,in which our colleague and long-term Tapriza supporter Dr. Gabriele Tautscher has been working since years. It was destroyed in a landslide during an aftershock. Luckily all the villagers survived because they left their houses after the earthquake.Gabriele Tautscher will supervise the donations specifically contributed to the cause of rebuilding Chayarsaba.
Please add the note "earthquake relief" on the donation slip.
Our account with Credit Suisse Tapriza Verein - CS-Credit Suisse:
CHF acc. no. 298535-90
IBAN CH18 0483 5029 8535 9000 0
Bank Clearing no: 4835,
BIC/SWIFT: CRESCHZZ80A
Our account with Swiss Post – Postfinance
Tapriza Verein – Swiss Postfinance:
Account no. 87-522110-0
IBAN: CH30 0900 0000 8752 2110 0
BIC/SWIFT: POFICHBEXXX
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Landslide in Dolakha wiping out whole villages