Nepal Ten Years On

07 August 15

Posted at 8:57

Swayumbhunath

In 2005 I spent sometime in Nepal, trekking in the Annapurna foothills, absorbing the vibrant atmosphere of Kathmandu and exploring in the Chitwan jungle.

Kathmandu

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Sadhu

Sadhu

I fell in love with the place, the people.

Children

especially the people - Nepalese children would quickly melt the hardest heart.

Funeral Pire

Funeral Pire

and the culture. In many ways time seemed to have stood still in Nepal (apart from the tourism, their lifeblood) things continue in the way they have for centuries.

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Untitled

The scenery is amazing

Tara Top

Tara Top the high point of our trek

After the storm

One evening whilst trekking we were awoken in our tents by a tremendous storm. During the night much of our equipmet was blown away or destroyed. Together with our guides and porters we took refuge in a tiny cramped shed. And there we stayed for 24 hours until the unseasonal storm subsided. We experienced the tenacity of the Nepalese as our guides and porters gathered our equipment from far and wide, made repairs and took us on our way. A few days later we arrived back in Pokara and to our horror discovered that 13 French trekkers had perished in a mud slide just a few kilometres from where we were camped on the night of the storm.

So I have experienced just a taste of the kind of disaster that can strike in the region with no warning at all and I also experienced how the Nepalese take such events in their stride.

 

Now fast forward to April 2015 - a series of earthquakes devastated Nepal. Over 8000 people were killed, over 16000 injured and 2.8 million people displaced. The buildings pictured above and many many more were destroyed. I have made a significant career change since 2005. For the last for years I have studied photography at the University of Westminster equiping myself with skills, education and experience enabling me to forge a career as a documentary photographer. Having graduated this year I am embarking on my first documentary project as a full time freelance photographer.

My project is to visually document the progress/imact of the aid agencies response to the 2015 earthquakes six months down track. To make this project a reality I need some support so I have launched a Crowdfunder to help with my expenses. To find out more about the project and how you could become part of it click here   Nepal Six Months Later

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