Lele Sunar Tole was a pretty little village of traditional wood-framed
mud-brick houses, about 8-9 kilometres from Kathmandu. Thirteen or
fourteen households live there; the people are mostly artisans, working
in brass and iron, and raising some crops in their small terraced plots.

When the earthquake struck around midday last Saturday, most of
the villagers were outside. They were terrified, as the ground shook
and their ochre-painted houses rocked and shuddered. The shaking seemed
to go on forever. Bricks loosened by the quake began to tumble from
walls. Soon, whole walls collapsed and ancient, fire-blackened timbers
crashed to the ground. When the quake stopped, nine of the houses were
severely damaged; one completely destroyed. “I can’t live in my house
any more,” said Kanchhi Sunar.

Since then, the villagers of
Lele Sunar Tole have been sleeping outside under whatever shelter they
could find. Although they are close to the city, no relief had reached
them until UMN’s partner Rescue Network Nepal arrived yesterday
afternoon. What they brought with them was just the basics – some beaten
rice, dry noodles and flour; plastic sheeting for shelter. It’s not
much, but at least the people of Lele Sunar Tole feel a little less
alone.

NOTE: Rescue Network Nepal is a group of Christians from
local churches. UMN has helped train them in emergency relief and first
aid, and has provided NRP 200,000 (USD 2,000) for them to carry out
small-scale relief work on the outskirts of Kathmandu in the current
emergency.

Supplies being loaded into UMN’s vehicle, ready
for distribution

Sagar Sunar shows where the outer layer of his
house collapsed, leaving gaping holes.

The villagers have been living under plastic
sheets since Saturday, when the earthquake struck.

Kanchhi Sunar is very grateful for the relief
package from RNN.

The villagers of Lele Sunar Tole, with their relief
supplies.

Go to www.umn.org.np/page/give-earthquake to support our relief and recovery efforts.