The PAL-Nepal team returned to capital on Friday after completing its nine-day field trip to the flood-hit eastern terai districts of Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi and Parsa. During the field study the team assessed the extent to which previous investments in disaster preparedness increased Nepal Red Cross Society and community capacity to cope with disasters.
It also acquired lessons learned by the volunteers during the times of response performance.

The team held discussions with Red Cross district chapters and sub-chapters separately. It visited the communities where Community Based Disaster Prevention programmes were launched and held discussions with community volunteers and also met with beneficiaries.

In its first leg of the trip in Janakpur, the team met with the District chapter officials including Assistant CDO, LDO and officials from other social organisations.

In its meeting with teacher sponsors the same day, Uttim Lal Kapadi, a teacher volunteer from Dhanushadham said he and his friends collected primary data of the flood hit areas and the flood affected people on behalf of the Red Cross despite difficulties. “It is our duty to help the humanitarian organisation in the hours of need,” said Kapadi.

On the occasion assistant CDO of the district Prahlad Pokharel commended the role of the Red Cross in properly assessing and reaching the places with relief materials in time.

On September 22, the team visited the lowest land of the country in Janakpur known as Musaharnia and Tulasiyahi where waterlog problem persisted for nearly half a month.

Flood affected people of that area told the team that they had received support from Red Cross but that was not sufficient. They seemed dejected when the bordering flood-hit areas of India got ample relief materials along with money. “We have never received any help from our government ever since the area suffered from waterlogging,” the villagers said.

Tulasiyahi sub-chapter president Bishnu Purbe said they needed pre-stock of relief materials in the area as transportation from district headquarters during the rainy season was almost impossible.

The team spent the third and the fourth days of the trip in Mahottari, the most affected among the flood affected districts, acquiring information from various people and visiting the villages.

CDO of Mahottari district Bimal Preasad Dhakal appreciated the role of the Red Cross during the hard times. “We found the red cross staff so active and responsive to difficult situations that we asked them to lead the district disaster relief team,” said Dhakal and added that the network of the Red Cross in the gross roots level was its greatest asset.

People in Dhobauli and Kolhuwa areas seemed greateful to red cross initiatives during flood. They were serious in mitigating the effect of the flood and were not only utilising the small investment of the red cross but were collecting money collectively to apply preventive measures including the construction of embankment along the river side.

On the fifth day of the trip the team reached Sarlahi. It collected information about response performance, mitigation and preparedness plans, capacity building and coordination level from the district chapter in Malangawa. It then visited Sundarpur, one of the most affected villages of the district in the south west of its headquarters.

The team was in Birgunj the following day. It visited the regional warehouse on Wednesday as the town was remained closed for two days due to the call by the warring Maoist rebels.

Regional warehouse in-charge Sudarsan Shrestha said there was smooth flow of relief materials in eight districts of the central region during Monsoon. Birgunj warehouse takes care of Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Saptari and Makawanpur districts as the central warehouse manages to distribute relief materials in rest of ten hilly districts.

On September 30 the team held a review meeting with all the district chapter presidents and CBDP coordinators in Birgunj. Apart from reporting to the team their response during floods, officials from the districts recommended the team to take into consideration their problems.

The team is supposed to present the final Nepal Report by October end. Nepal draft report will be submitted to NRCS and the Federation by October 15th , 2004. The team comprised of Teija Lehohnin, Umesh Dhakal, Rishikesh Silwal, Krishna Sharma and Kabita Sharma.