KATHMANDU: A South Korean humanitarian foundation is stepping up relief efforts in Nepal after catastrophic flooding left people dead and missing, including nine South Korean workers, with emergency medicines, tents and education support planned for communities hit by the disaster.
The Um Hong-gil Human Foundation said Friday it would begin a new phase of relief operations after initially supporting search-and-rescue efforts following the Aug. 26 flooding.
The foundation said its Nepal team has been assessing damage with government agencies and local authorities as the emergency response shifts toward helping displaced families, damaged health facilities and schools.
The first major distribution of the new relief phase is scheduled for Saturday in Uttar Gaya, where the foundation will provide emergency medicines and patient tents to a local health post in cooperation with Kathmandu Model Hospital.
The assistance is intended to help restore basic medical services in an area where flooding has disrupted access to healthcare.
The foundation said it transferred its first round of emergency funding to Nepal on Sept. 3 and plans to send two additional rounds of funding in the coming weeks. It is also preparing to distribute tents, school supplies and essential household items to at least three other locations identified through its field assessments.
The organization is considering a larger education project at a school destroyed by the floods, including construction of a facility that could serve both as classrooms and an emergency shelter.
It also announced special scholarships for students at its Human School in Nepal who lost family members in the flooding.
“Nepal is like a second home to me, a place that made countless challenges and dreams possible,” foundation Chairman Um Hong-gil said. “We must come together with warm hearts to help Nepali families who suddenly lost their homes and loved ones in this flooding recover their everyday lives as soon as possible.”
Um, a renowned South Korean mountaineer, has maintained a longstanding connection with Nepal through his humanitarian work.
Following the devastating 2015 earthquake, he mobilized $100,000 in emergency relief through his foundation and personally travelled to affected areas as head of a Korean Red Cross emergency relief team to deliver food and essential supplies.
Drawing on his experience climbing the world’s highest mountains, Um said the determination required to survive extreme conditions could also help Nepal recover from the latest disaster.
“Just as unwavering determination carried me to the summit through fierce blizzards and storms, I am confident the people of Nepal will overcome this crisis as well,” he said. “The Foundation will stand with them through every step of recovery.”
The foundation has been raising emergency funds since late August and said its relief program will continue beyond the immediate response.
The flooding on August 26 caused widespread destruction across Nepal, killing people, damaging homes and infrastructure and leaving others unaccounted for. The disaster also drew particular concern in South Korea after nine South Korean workers were reported missing.
The Um Hong-gil Human Foundation, founded by the South Korean mountaineer, works in education and health development as well as emergency relief in Nepal and other communities.
The foundation’s latest operation comes as Nepal moves from immediate rescue efforts toward the more difficult phase of rebuilding homes, schools, health facilities and livelihoods damaged by the disaster.
