Nuwakot [Nepal], October 5 – An eight-member volunteer team from South Korea has joined recovery efforts in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, helping clear mud and sludge from homes in an area badly affected by the August 26 floods along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river system.
The team arrived in Nepal last week and received permission from the local government to carry out cleaning and recovery work in Dhunge Bazaar of Bidur Municipality-1. The volunteers are scheduled to work in the area for 10 days.
Bidur-1 Ward Chair Lenin Ranjit issued permission for the team, which has been clearing flood debris amid high temperatures.
The team is led by Lee Khang-woo and includes Lee Chae-jung, Shin Jeong-hun, Kim Ho-yong, Yoon Ho-yong and Lee Young-cheol. It also includes 84-year-old Kim Sang-ki.
Locals said Kim’s decision to take part in volunteer work in a foreign country at his age has inspired them.
The team’s deployment to Nepal was facilitated by Lions International District 325 I Nepal and Lions International District 354 D Korea. The volunteers are helping make the affected area suitable for resettlement, under a message that disaster recovery requires collective community efforts and humanitarian support.
The group also participated in rescue and relief efforts in Nepal following the 2015 earthquake and has reportedly carried out rescue initiatives in more than 54 countries.
Lions District 325 Nepal Cabinet Secretary Anuj Kumar Shrestha said the initiative reflects the humanitarian cooperation between Lions organisations in the two countries.
The team is scheduled to return to South Korea on October 7, according to the team’s language translator, Anup Jung Basnet.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the Bhotekoshi flood killed 1,451 people and left 5,745 missing while thousands of houses were washed away.
