What Israeli Rescuers Found in Nepal

Thursday, April 30, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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A 20-person delegation comprised of volunteers from Israel’s leading rescue organizations already has set up a field hospital and begun reaching out to earthquake victims in Nepal. Coordinated by IsraeLife and including representatives from United Hatzalah, Zaka and F.I.R.S.T., the rescue mission arrived on Monday and split up into two camps – one stationed in Kathmandu and the other in smaller villages in the periphery.

Dov Maisel, a member of joint delegation and United Hatzalah volunteer, explains conditions on the field. “Many communities have been utterly destroyed... their hospital or medical center is gone - they have nothing.” So far, the Israeli rescue team is treating injuries, pulling people out of rubble, rescuing victims from remote locations and consoling those facing grave tragedy.

"It is very difficult. After this kind of incident you have many wounded people who have nowhere to go - and they have fractures, an infected cut - all sorts of wounds... and they have no one treating them. Our mission is to help as many people as possible,” he said.

Eli Pollak, CEO of IsraeLife, said, “We decided to enlist the cooperation of the prominent Israeli emergency agencies in order to maximize the capabilities of the delegation, which is made up of experts in serving the needs of the disaster area. We are preparing for a long stay that will provide solutions to the Israelis living in Nepal and local residents.”

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Christians Died While Worshipping as Quake Hit in Nepal

Christians Died While Worshipping as Quake Hit

CBNNews.com

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Hundreds of Nepalese Christians died as their churches crashed down upon them when last week's devastating earthquake hit during their weekly worship services.

In Nepal, Christians worship on Saturday because it's a day off, while Sunday is a work day. Most services last until 12:30 in the afternoon meaning most were still in service when the quake hit at 11:56 AM.

"Many Christians were buried while they were worshiping on Sabbath and died," the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nepal, Umesh Pokharel said, according to an article by Christianity Today. (The article cited several sources, including: Adventist Review, AsiaNews, Global Mission Nepal, the Brethren in Christ Church, Mission Network News, the Assemblies of God, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Aid, and the Nepal Church of Christ.)

The CT article cites a Facebook post by a Brethren in Christ Church worker: "Although unclear some have reported 100 believers in a church in Kathmandu were worshipping on the 7th floor rented building was completely collapsed, some 40 bodies were taken out whereas others still missing."

About 80 people died when the Nepali Evangelical Church in Kapan oustide Kathmandu collapsed.

Seventeen bodies were discovered in the rubble of a rural church that was struck just as the service was ending, according to the IMB. The pastor reporteldy lost three family members in the tragedy.

Assemblies of God World Missions reports that three of its churches are totally destroyed and several lives lost.

Christian Aid said several churches had just let out ahead of the quake, including one in Kathmandu.

"Ten minutes earlier and everyone would still have been inside," said Christian Aid's South Asia director. "There would have certainly been many injuries, if not deaths."

Overall, approximately 500 Christians are feared dead.

Israel Dispatches Massive Aid Team to Nepal

Sunday, April 26, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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Israel on Sunday dispatched some 240 IDF soldiers to take part in search and rescue efforts in Nepal, which on Saturday suffered a 7.9 earthquake that left at least 2,000 people dead and many more unaccounted for.

Medical, logistics and rescue officers with Israel’s Home Front Command were among the delegation, which will establish a field hospital in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu.

In addition to aiding the local population, the IDF team will be tasked with finding and assisting an estimated 250 Israelis in Nepal who by Sunday afternoon had failed to make contact with family for friends back home.

Nepal, like many Asian countries, is extremely popular with Israeli backpackers.

Also in need of rescue are 24 Israeli babies born to surrogate mothers in recent days. The babies and their biological parents are to be flown out of Nepal via helicopters organized by Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Immediately following the disaster, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said: “Our hearts and thoughts are with the nation of Nepal who are dealing with a terrible disaster, and with our loved ones who are in danger and distress.”

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Israeli volunteers help Nepalese extend life expectancy

Tuesday, August 13, 2013 |  Yossi Aloni  

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Dozens of Israeli volunteers, including Israeli Ambassador in Kathmandu Hanan Goder (pictured left), recently visited a remote village in Nepal where inhabitants typically die at a young age and found an original way to instead give them long and healthy lives.

Behind the project is the Israeli humanitarian organization Tevel b'Tzedek (The Earth - In Justice), which every years picks about 100 Israeli and Jewish volunteers from around the world to come to Nepal for educational programs and humanitarian work.

The organization has been operating for the past four years in the impoverished village of Mahda Besi, providing training in the fields of agriculture, women’s empowerment, youth and education, and health and sanitation.

Residents of rural villages in Nepal such as Mahda Besi suffer from low life expectancy, with average life spans as much as 20 years below the Israeli average.

The main reason for this low life expectancy, according to the Israeli volunteers, is the traditional widespread use of local forest trees for cooking. Besides the obvious environmental damage, the smoke created by burning these trees in villages and homes harms both the mothers who are cooking and the children in their care.

But the Jewish mind immediately came up with an original solution for these villagers. Lead by group founder Rabbi Micha Odenheimer, the volunteers installed in several villages dozens of facilities for the production of cooking gas made from...cattle dung. The use of bio gas enables residents to cook without creating pollution harmful to both the environment and themselves.

Another quick fix was the installation of chimneys so that the smoke from cooking does not collect in residential areas. The villagers and the volunteers were surprised that such a simple and cost effective solution could so dramatically improve the quality of life in the village.

When Israeli Ambassador Hanan Goder heard about the operation, he personally joined the volunteers. Godel's primary interests are in agriculture and community projects aimed at examining and improving the means of transportation used by the villagers. A joint Israeli-Nepalese think tank is continuing to develop additional ways to improve life in the villages. For example, through the use of Israeli technology, many villages have already doubled their agricultural output, and are now able to invest the increased income in further bettering their lot.

The local Israeli embassy and MASHAV - the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Agency for International Development Cooperation - have for years worked in close connection with Tevel b'Tzedek in Nepal and other countries. As noted, the organizations hosts 100 Israeli and Jewish volunteers every yeas. Some come to participate in particular projects. Others combine a time of volunteering with a hiking trip to the East, a very popular post-army ritual for most young Israelis.

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