Bode Resettlement Camp

It was heart-wrenching and heart-warming all at the same time to go to the camp at Bode to see for myself what my team had been up to and what the situation was like there .

The camp houses 1104 displaced people from Sindhupalchok - a district north east of Kathmandu bordering China and one of the worst hit in the quakes. These people have all lost their homes and the area is under serious threat from landslides when the monsoon comes. So it is not safe for people to stay there.

Kishor had some contacts in Sindhupalchok in the Bhairabkunda Youth Club and Chamber of Commerce. They contacted him for help explaining there were 1500 people who needed shelter. The Youth Club found the land near Bhaktapur and transportation was organised to get them all to the site. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation donated 100 large tents and so sprung up the Bode Resettlement Camp. Various other friends and organisations have helped in setting up the camp. Helping Hands donated materials for the kitchens and our teams built. Bring Thoughts to Action donated galvanized sheets for the roofs of the classrooms and a member on the board of PKG donated money for bamboo.



at the entrance a small boy opens the gate for someone coming in...

This tent houses three families, a total of 11 people. What struck me was how, even in cramped conditions, these people were smiling and relaxing.

It is a classic example of the Nepali spirit - in spite of hardships and setbacks, at the very least, they are still smiling.

Some people have used tarps to add shady porches to the outsides of their tents.

I was surprised to learn there is electricity and each tent is wired with an LED light so people aren't sitting around in the dark after sunset.

There are 16 community kitchens scattered around the site - some more kitted out than others.

People store their food in their tents and take it to the kitchens to prepare their meals on the stoves provided.

One tent is currently being used as a classroom while the classrooms are still under construction.

Of the 368 children, 190 of the older kids go to the local government school. Classrooms are being for the young kids.

(In fact, since I was there a few days ago, some of the classrooms have been built - pics up on the fb page ).

Young volunteers from the community who are living there are helping to run the site.

In the office, where they have wifi and power so people can come and charge their phones, they are also monitoring different areas on the security cameras! Also provided by the Chinese organisation, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

It was quite moving to see the camp up close and get a sense of what life is like for the people there. Of the initial 1500 who arrived the first day, some moved on, finding friends or relatives or other situations. But the people left will be there for the monsoon and months beyond, until they are able to go home and start rebuilding their lives.

This camp is a better situation than many other locations housing the displaced in and around the Kathmandu valley. These people are fortunate because their are facilities available. They have toilets (more being built by To Da Loo), they have water (more tanks are being set up also), they even have electricity. There will be a school and library for the children. It's a safe environment on the edge of a very picturesque forest. The location itself is quite attractive.

Walking around, taking pictures and smiling at the residents really brought home to me how desperate the situation is here in Nepal in the post-quake aftermath. This situation is 'good', yet tents are still full with 10-12 people (2-3 families) all sharing a space.

The people here are smiling and clearly resigned to this being their home for the coming months but they are still refugees, living in temporary conditions. 

And these are the 'lucky' ones. They are alive and they have shelter for the coming monsoon. Going there and seeing it, really puts in perspective the magnitude of the situation. Especially for those who aren't so lucky.