After the earthquake that devastated Nepal on April 25, MCC immediately began to work with our partners in order to gather food and relief items to be distributed to some of the worst-hit communities in our working areas. Explore the pictures below to see how, in spite of many obstacles, staff from MCC and our local partner organizations were able to bring vital humanitarian aid to the remote earthquake-affected communities that desperately needed it.
After many hours in the back of a truck, tarps from southern Nepal arrive at the MCC office in Kathmandu. From here, they will be transported another 100 miles to Okhaldhunga district in eastern Nepal. (MCC photo/Katrina Labun)
Sacks of chiura, ready-to-eat beaten rice, are stacked to the ceiling in the office of MCC’s partner, Shanti Nepal. This food is part of MCC Nepal’s emergency food relief work in the community of Darkha in northern Dhading district. (Photo courtesy of Shanti Nepal staff)
This tractor full of relief supplies needs some help making it up the rough roads of Okhaldhunga district on the way to distribute supplies in a remote earthquake affected community. MCC has supported food security and nutrition projects in Okhaldhunga district since 2010. Even at the best of times, it can be hard to reach these villages, and after the earthquake, landslides made some of the roads even worse. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
Narayan Ojha, a project coordinator for MCC’s local partner SAHAS, and a local resident travel with relief items to the village of Khijifalate, Okhaldhunga. It’s a 3-hour journey by tractors or motorbikes. The alternative is on foot. This tractor had to make 5 trips over 2 days to get all the relief materials from the trucks at the main road to Khijifalate village. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
More than 50 people volunteered to help MCC Nepal’s partner RICOD with relief efforts, including those pictured here packing relief kits at a community college in Kathmandu. The kits were then sent to earthquake-affected families in remote villages in southern Lalitpur district. RICOD, with support from MCC, runs a mother and child nutrition program in this area. (Photo courtesy of RICOD staff)
Anita Lama, 71, (right), and her family received food and sleeping mats from MCC through our partner RICOD. After the earthquake destroyed two of the extended family’s houses in south Lalitpur, they were forced to sleep under tarps on the ground. Though they had food stored in their ruined houses, they were only able to retrieve a small amount of it. MCC and RIOCD also provided the family with a three-week supply of food (rice, lentils and oil). (MCC photo/Binod Deshar)
Relief supplies ready for distribution in Okhaldhunga District. Each participating family received enough food to last a household of five for three weeks from MCC through Group of Helping Hands (SAHAS), our local partner in the area. They also received emergency shelter materials, blankets and cooking supplies, flashlights, water treatment supplies and soap. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
After ten gruelling hours of travel, this truck carrying MCC supplies could go no further. From here, residents of Ragani village carried their relief supplies home over steep and rugged terrain. (MCC Photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
Tej Kumar Rai, a SAHAS project officer in Okhaldhunga, helps unload relief materials in Ragani, Okhaldhunga. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
After a long, difficult journey, relief materials reach the village of Ragani, Okhaldhunga. Here, MCC Program Coordinator Durga Sunchiuri (blue shirt) helps to distribute the supplies, which include rice, lentils, salt, oil, tarps, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, and soap. (MCC photo)
Earthquake-affected families in Ragani, Okhaldhunga pose with their relief items. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
Relief distributions require careful coordination. Here, Shanti Nepal Community Health Facilitators Manju Tamang (red scarf) and Esther Tamang (behind with blue mask) cross-check the household list for distribution of relief supplies in Darkha. Shanti Nepal, with support from MCC, runs water and sanitation and community health programs in this district. (Photo courtesy of Shanti Nepal staff)
Residents of Darkha, in northern Dhading district, gather to collect relief supplies from MCC’s partner Shanti Nepal. This area was highly affected by the earthquake, and many people lost their stored food when their homes collapsed. All 1,300 households in Darkha received a 2-week supply of beaten rice, roasted peanuts and lentils, and instant noodles. The road only reaches the border of the district, so residents of remote communities had to walk in and carry their supplies home – a walking distance of up to several hours over hilly trails. (Photo courtesy of Shanti Nepal staff)
These relief recipients in Darkha, northern Dhading, have a long, hilly walk ahead of them to bring their supplies home. (Photo courtesy of Shanti Nepal staff)
Burnamay Khatri, 28, mother of three children, received food from MCC through one of its local partners, Group of Helping Hands, in Okhaldhunga District, Nepal. Khatri’s home was destroyed after the earthquake. (MCC photo/Durga Sunchiuri)
Mennonite Central Committee Nepal 
Thank you for working so hard to bring relief to these needy people.
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