By Levy Masiteng
Gift of the Givers is preparing to head to Nepal following devastating floods that have left hundreds dead and thousands missing, as the organisation steps up efforts to assist and help locate six South Africans still unaccounted for in the disaster zone.
The decision was taken during an emergency meeting on Friday, held by the organisation’s Head of Search and Rescue, Ahmed Bham with the Nepalese government, the Foreign Minister for Nepal Shishr Khanal, Disaster Management officials and other authorities.
Gift of the Givers founder and CEO Imtiaz Sooliman said in a statement that Nepal were interested in Gift of the Givers team composition and capability, with a particular interest in the K9 Dogs Unit.
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Gift of the Givers said its team, including South African Police Service dog handlers, was met at its logistics facility in Johannesburg at on Saturday morning to begin preparing rescue equipment.
A second search-and-recovery team has also been placed on standby.
The organisation said it was aware that Nepal currently had sufficient medical capacity but remained prepared to deploy medical teams if required.
“Nepalese Disaster Management confirmed that if a call for international assistance is made they will grant Gift of the Givers priority status, receive us, host us and blend our teams with theirs.” the statement said.
The planned rescue mission came as six South Africans remain missing following the floods, with Gift of the Givers working directly with their families.
The six are Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife Anita Devi Maharaj, 67, from Ladysmith; Bavila Ramjee, 43, from East London; Vivaganathan Pillay, 66, and his wife Janet Pillay, 56; and Terricia Govender, 33, from Isipingo Beach.
They are among a group of seven South Africans known to have been in the affected region.
The organisation said the seventh South African, Sulosh Pillay, safely crossed into Tibet two days before the disaster.
“Gift of the Givers are in contact with the families of the six missing South Africans,” said Sooliman.
Meanwhile, Prashant Pokhrel, a South African music teacher who has lived in Nepal for several years, has circulated photographs of the missing South Africans through local media and activated contacts in the affected area to assist in locating them when conditions permit.
Gift of the Givers confirmed that the Depertment of Internationwl Relationa and Co-Operation (DIRCO) had written to the Nepalese government in support of efforts to locate the missing South Africans.
According to DIRCO, the South African High Commission in New Delhi is accredited to Nepal and provides consular assistance to South African nationals there, including emergency assistance during natural disasters.
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The search for the South Africans is unfolding against the backdrop of a disaster that has rapidly escalated in scale.
Nepal’s disaster authorities said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 626, while 2,426 people remained missing. China has separately reported seven deaths and hundreds of people missing in Tibet.
Across Nepal and Tibet, the combined number of people missing is approaching 3,000, with hundreds of foreign nationals among those unaccounted for.
The disaster struck on Wednesday, after the collapse of a glacier triggered a massive surge of water, rock, mud and debris through mountainous areas along the Nepal-China border.
Some of the worst destruction has been reported in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, while floodwaters also swept through areas further downstream, including Nuwakot and Dhading.
The force of the flooding caused widespread destruction to homes, roads and bridges and severely disrupted access to affected communities. The Trishuli River reportedly rose by about nine metres in just 30 minutes.
More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal, but rescue teams continue to face difficult conditions, including thick mud, damaged infrastructure, inaccessible roads and the threat of further flooding.
The scale of the emergency has prompted Nepal to seek specialised international technical assistance.
Nepalese officials thanked Gift of the Givers for coming forward to assist and recalled its intervention following the country’s 2015 earthquake.
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