Oman is one of the countries reaching out to the people of Nepal after the devastating earthquake – and you can do your bit to help those in need
Report: Kate Ginn
More than 50 countries around the world have united in a global show of solidarity to provide urgent assistance to Nepal following the earthquake, which has killed more than 7,000 people and injured twice as many, as the sheer extent of the destruction becomes clear.
International relief is being mobilised to offer financial aid and resources to cope with the crisis, as supplies of food and medicines being to run short.
As efforts gather pace, Oman is doing its bit to show how much the world cares.
Last weekend, a team from the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA) headed to the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu to join the international relief operation. A 40-strong team, including members of the Royal Oman Police (ROP), PACDA and the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) left with 100 tonnes of aid loaded in a cargo plane.
In Nepal, the team will help ferry aid supplies across Himalayan terrains to remote villages in quake-hit areas, where local people are struggling to survive with dwindling supplies of water and food.
In an interview with Y Magazine, Bharat Kumar Regmi, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Nepal in Muscat, said: “The Government of the Sultanate of Oman has sent relief assistance for the earthquake victims in Nepal, which includes blankets, tents, mattresses, cooking utensils, drinking water, food packets, and first-aid kits, which the embassy had requested.”
Meanwhile, communities in Oman are making sure the Sultanate looks after the Nepalese community both here and in their own country. The Nepal Embassy in Oman has set up two dedicated phone lines for Nepalese residents and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) in Oman is running a donation campaign for aid and money, raising more than RO6,000 so far.
Blue-collar workers, many of whom have very little money to live on, have given what they can as the NRNA visited labour camps. Contributions range from RO1 to RO50.
In one case, a combined donation of RO400 was given from workers and white-collar staff.
“Besides Nepalis, Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Filipinos have also donated for the disaster-struck country,” Deepak Shrestha, first vice president of NRNA, told a local newspaper.
Efforts are also ongoing among Oman’s 15,000 Nepali expatriates to help their brothers and sisters back home.
Many schools in Muscat, including the Royal Flight School, and beyond are also arranging their own fundraising efforts.
And the Oman Charitable Organisation is coordinating any nationwide efforts.
“The Nepalese people, the Government of Nepal and the Nepalese community in Oman and the Embassy in Muscat highly value the support,” says Bharat Kumar Regmi.
No one could fail to be moved by the stories and images emerging from Nepal since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on April 25, the most powerful disaster to hit the Himalayan nation since 1934.
The tremors rippled out to neighbouring countries, India, China and Bangladesh, causing building damage and casualties.
The effects of the quake are also being felt in Oman. From information available, it is believed three Nepali workers in Oman have altogether lost nine relatives in the quake. Others have lost property or their possessions.
But as of last Thursday, all but one of the 14 Omanis who were in Nepal at the time of the earthquake have been traced and safely evacuated.
Extraordinary tales of rescues with people pulled out of the rubble alive after days being buried have given hope to those in Nepal and the wider world watching from afar.
On Saturday, police rescued a 101-year-old man from his destroyed home, one week after the earthquake flattened his district in northwest of Kathmandu. The man remains in a stable condition and police don’t know how he survived.
Earlier, spectators watching an apparently fruitless rescue mission erupted in cheers after a teenager was pulled out of the remains of a collapsed multi-storey residential building in one of the capital’s hardest hit neighbourhoods. Wearing a New York shirt and covered in dust, the 15-year-old boy emerged into the sunlight.
In one of the most touching sights, a five-month-old baby girl was incredibly pulled alive from the remains of a building 22 hours after it collapsed. The photograph of little Sonies Awal (left), blanketed in dust but with barely a scratch, in the arms of her Nepalese soldier rescuer went viral around the world.
Although Nepal celebrates such rescues, the scale of damage to the country is breathtaking. Thousands of villages have been completely destroyed; schools and hospitals reduced to piles of bricks, and hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless by the quake. Tented cities are springing up for the displaced people, many of whom are too scared to go back to their homes in fear of aftershocks.
Authorities are struggling to coordinate the overwhelming mass of international aid pouring in.
The Nepal Government has estimated at least $2 billion (RO770 million) will be needed to rebuild homes, hospitals, government offices and historic buildings, in a scale of destruction described as “heartbreaking” by officials.
A number of ancient monuments and important cultural buildings in Kathmandu will need to be restored or demolished after suffering damage from the tremors that shook the city. Rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts will require huge resources.
At least 18 climbers were killed on Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, when the earthquake triggered a massive avalanche. While the mountain remains open, the climbing season has been cancelled, with ongoing aftershocks and tremors stalling any expedition attempts.
The race now is not to the top of a mountain but to help Nepal get back to its feet in the face of a humanitarian crisis that is growing by the day. It is likely to be a long haul, as a statement from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the international community made all too clear.
“The government needs your continued support and full understanding to confront the unprecedented challenges in the days ahead.”
What is being done in Oman:
– The Embassy of Nepal in Oman, in association with Nepali organisations, has set up a hotline with two dedicated numbers for people to enquire about relatives, property or information. The numbers are +968 9125 4900 and +968 9596 6045. Lines are open from 7am-10pm every day.
– Ooredoo is offering discounted calls to Nepal with a flat rate of 45 baisas per minute when using the company’s International Direct Dialing, 0902, More International, and Mousbak International services.
How you can help:
Official bank accounts have been designated by the Government of Nepal for monetary donations to be paid into.
For Muscat, this is:
Bank Muscat
Account: Embassy of Nepal
Account Number: 0321026013480053
Alternatively, the donation can be made at the Embassy of Nepal in Muscat at Villa 2563, Way 2834, Shatti al Qurum.
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