JON & KELLY CONTINUE TO HELP IN NEPAL

As reported previously, Sparsholt Cricket Club Vice Captain Jon Vokes, and his girlfriend Kelly Douglas who works at the Winchester branch of builders merchants Sydenhams have gone to Nepal to join a charity organisation called All Hands Volunteer (AHV) who are helping to rebuild hundreds of homes destroyed by the massive earthquake which struck the region in April last year. This week Jon has sent his own report and pictures from Nepal, 0ver 4600 miles from Winchester, describing their efforts of the past three weeks. Jon writes…..After being here for 3 weeks we have made a huge difference to the landscape of the Bansbari region of Melamchi (All Hands 1 of 2 sites, the other being at Nuwakot) where we are working. As I write this we have completed our task to complete 50 houses and 50 toilets. We have 200 rubble sites to finish and this will take up the rest of March and half of April before the base can finish. Each day we are split into teams of rubble, foundation, structure, roof and walls. Toilets are also a select team and they complete all their tasks themselves as the structure is smaller. We are first tasked with clearing the damage of the earthquake which means clearing all the stones and dried dirt (which made up their original houses) leaving a level surface for the foundations team to dig the trenches and holes for the metal structures that are erected by the structure team. Following up are a roof team who attach the 28 sheets of corrugated iron to the structure. The house is completed by the walls team who first attach a wire mesh to the structure, this means that if another earthquake strikes the materials that make up the solid walls of the house (supplied by the beneficiaries ie the Nepalese) should fall outwards, thus protecting those inside. Other than the rubble which can take a few days to complete a site, all other team can complete their tasks on 2 houses each day. The toilet teams dig a 3m cesspit holes, lower 5 concrete rings and a top, dig the structure into the ground, place and concrete in the squat plate that is the toilet used in this part of the world. (Yes, we use them too!). All that is left is a course of concrete blocks for the beneficiaries who have been trained by AHV to complete the masonry, blocks supplied by us. Before this though, the same wire mesh is used and a lockable door added to the structure. A separate team of 'sherpas' is required to supply the building materials, concrete rings and sand and gravel to many different sites on the mountain. We have to use the traditional method of Sherpa baskets on the back, fixed to the top of the head by a strap. It is always great fun to Sherpa and there is a great reward in providing so many sites with the means to carry on. Another great thing is we get is a lunch of Dal Bhat (a local dish of lentil soup and rice) supplied by the beneficiaries we work for, which is very rewarding’. The couple expect to return to Winchester on April 2.

Jon and Kelly have funded their own flights to and from Nepal, but the All Hands Volunteer group , the charity organising this help in Nepal provides accommodation costing approximately $25 per person. If you would like to make a contribution to help this worthwhile cause, please visit the site give.hands.org. (search for ‘give.hands.org Jon & Kells’, and hit the ‘donate’ button), the site is US based, and therefore shows dollars, but the dollar figure you contribute will be converted to pounds sterling by your bank at no charge to you – as a guide, $10 equates to about £7).

Photos show progress some of the stages when rebuilding a Nepalese house.

Nepal2 – the ‘structure’ team building the frame of the walls

Nepal1 – Kelly and Jon in front of a structure with its roof in place

Nepal4 – a completed structure

Nepal3 – its not all work. Kelly and Jon enjoying a ‘painting’ festival in Katmandu on their day off.