ISDRI Nepal distributed relief to the flood affected people at Mansuri Tol in Ishannath Municipality-8 of Rautahat district. In the last week of August, the organization extended relief goods to 100 households that were badly affected by recent floods. People mostly from down-trodden communities such as Musahar, Dalit, and Muslim community were hardest hit by the flooding. The incessant monsoon rains that lashed Nepal for three days (on August 13, 14 and 15) had inundated the entire settlement in the locality.  The ISDRI Nepal team that reached the village to extend support felt that the havoc wreaked by floods have left them high and dry. 

The inundated settlements had not dried out when the ISDRI team reached there. All the houses are cluttered following the disaster. The floods have swept away crops including rice paddy, thereby causing a huge loss.  The locals have been relying on alternative routes to move as the rice fields have been waterlogged. Daily life of flood survivors seemed risky, children could not play freely, they looked really helpless. The locals said the disaster caused an immense loss to livestock as the number of buffalos, mule, chickens and goats perished in the floods were too many to be counted.

The relief goods were distributed on August 31 with the support from local police administration. It took us hectic four days to reach the relief distribution site and complete the task. Chairperson of Chandrapur Municipality Chamber of Commerce Sunil Kumar Jaisawal had a special support for the relief distribution program. The flood survivors complained that no organization had reached out to the settlement that lies at Nepal-India border.  The three-day long continuous rainfall also submerged the schools, depriving the children from education. The monsoon rains have left the locals in lurch. 

Luxmi Petticrew and her family, Roberta Anderson and her friends, EI-Bra Green and her organisation Oasi Zen, Patricia Eckton and Kym Erickson donated for relief distribution to the village. Luxmi Petticrew and her family are from Ireland, and EI-Bra Green and her organization Oasi Zen are based in Italy. The rest are from USA. Prior to this, many had collected donation and handed it over to ISRDI Nepal for distribution to the flood hit people. 

It was a heartening to see the flood survivors elated as they received relief materials at Ishnath Municipality. This place is 245 km South-East of Kathmandu. Twenty-one-year-old Kubira Khatun looked joyful when she got her share of the relief items. Likewise, Haridevi Pariyar, aged 56, and Gaura Musahar, aged 45, said the relief came arrived as god’s gift. Eighteen-year-old Abdulla Miya said he had rarely felt this kind of happiness in his entire life. SheTahid, who was exuding his happiness, said this was the happiest day of his life. “Such a kind and gentle soul would always be blessed by Allah (god),” he said. 

The locals seemed dejected during the farewell program. “Have a safe journey. We’ve heard that the roads have been damaged by floods and landslides. We have never been to Kathmandu, though,” said Kamarul Hoda and Motiya Miya, the flood affected people from the village.