Sedi Bagar Landslide Appeal

 A report by Ann Foulkes, KE Trek Leader... January 2008

I lead 4 treks to Nepal annually, and often stay with a Nepali family at the village of Sedi Bagar near to Pokhara. We have taken families there on KE family trips to Nepal, and the area is usually visited by KE’s mountain bike groups.

A landslide wiped out a significant portion of the village of Sedi Bagar. 86 families have been displaced - around half the community. Miraculously there were only 3 deaths as the slide took place over a period of 3 days.

The river flooded spectacularly after a particularly prolonged period of heavy rain in the monsoon, and dug up an enormous quantity of rocks from the ground which, in turn, have flattened the houses. Many of the houses have been completely flattened - you can just make out the foundations.

I spent time talking to the villagers, and contacted both the Red Cross and United Nations to make sure that the JT aid money wasn’t going to be spent on projects that other agencies had sidelined money for. However, it appears that there is no organisation that takes over once the immediate emergency relief work is done. The estimated cost of the work needed to get this village back on its feet is significant, but the villagers are left to find money themselves.

The Juniper Trust have kindly donated $2000 towards the cost of helping the village get back on its feet.  This money has gone towards hiring a bulldozer which is being used for the vast task of clearing the area of the boulders, trees and house debris before storm channels can be built for the river. This is a priority for the village is to ensure that the area is safe before any rebuilding of homes can take place. The villagers have asked me to pass on their gratitude to the Juniper Trust for this donation.

Ann Foulkes