Day 10 - Behind the Scenes

Today marks the conclusion of my trip to Nepal. Tomorrow I’ll wrap up and collect all my notes into a final report then board a plane for the U.S. Before I go, though, it’s important to share the much less visible parts of a trip like this.

Here in Nepal there are about 1.4 million people affected by these earthquakes who require some form of relief. From food to shelter to health care, psychological counseling, and financial relief. Addressing these needs is a massive undertaking requiring the concerted effort of governments, NGO’s, small private organizations like churches, and individuals. Managing all this aid to see that everyone is cared for is an almost unimaginable task.

What gets the attention of the media and the things organizations like ServLife post on our websites and Facebook pages are the end result of a lot of behind the scenes work. The wonderful pictures of food being delivered a few days ago in Jaalbire came only after meetings to discuss the need, an accounting of the finances needed, phone calls to suppliers and transportation companies, coordinating with church leaders in Jaalbire to identify the 150 families who would receive the aid and scheduling everyone to be where they needed to be when they needed to be there. Only then could food be delivered and pictures taken.

Today I attended a meeting where representatives of at least 65 NGO’s large and small along with Nepal government officials talked about providing shelter. You can see in the picture it looks like nothing glamorous or heartwarming is happening here. What is happening is everyone who is working to provide temporary shelter before the monsoon comes is talking together. They are coordinating efforts to see that as many people as possible as quickly as possible get the shelter they need.

This behind the scenes work means registering ServLife as one of the organizations providing shelter. It means completing paperwork and updating the information every time we provide for another community. It includes the invitation to help the larger community coordinate in areas where we have church planters who can serve their entire region. It means thinking not only of the needs of ServLife partners but how we interact with the effort to bring relief to all of Nepal. And it means attending these weekly meetings every Wednesday morning.

These are not easy things to consider and they pose both great opportunities and great challenges to ServLife. Later in the day I met with the leadership of a very large church in Kathmandu. They are also doing recovery work. I told them about these Wednesday meetings. Encouraged them to become part of the larger team. Shared resources I’ve discovered here that many churches and small NGO’s don’t know about. This was another meeting that will bear fruit for the people of Nepal.

This week I met coordinators from the World Food Programme and discovered they are coordinating logistics for the entire effort. They have trucks and, as of today, three helicopters ready to bring supplies to people in need. All a registered NGO has to do is complete a form telling WFP what to pick up, where to pick it up and where to drop it off and they will deliver at no cost. I have shared this news and the logistics request form with many people who had not heard about this. But to be successful there needs to be a contact from the organization available at the pick-up location and at the drop location. This takes coordination.

The work of disaster recovery is ultimately about seeing to the needs of those who are suffering. From hunger to homelessness to financial ruin, there is great pain in Nepal. And there are a great many people tending to these needs. To meet these needs most effectively it takes lots and lots of tedious, detailed, thoughtful behind the scenes planning. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t make for good pictures. But it’s the kind of work that has consumed a good portion of my trip and it’s worth it.

Thanks to all who’ve followed my journey, are praying for Nepal and have supported this effort financially. This is only the beginning.