Floods and landslides that struck Nepal in late August have left many people without homes or a means of living, and the country’s small Christian community has been hit along with everyone else. In reports reaching Finland’s Evangelistmissionen, partner workers describe entire congregations swept away by floodwater and, in at least one place, a pastor who disappeared into the river. Damaged roads and fresh landslide risk have made several of the worst-affected areas difficult or impossible to reach.
The danger applies to those trying to help as well. Four evangelists set out to reach some of the cut-off communities; only three arrived. The fourth was caught in a landslide on the way. One of the mission’s local co-workers, the evangelist Ganesh Pariyar, is now working in close contact with Christians in the crisis areas, channelling information out and relief in through people who already know the districts and their congregations.
Olle Rosenqvist of Evangelistmissionen travelled to Nepal on 9 September on a trip planned long before the disaster, visiting Kathmandu and then Jhapa in the south-east of the country. The catastrophe gave existing relationships a new purpose: a local businessman named Indra, a long-standing partner with sewing factories of his own, is able to help manufacture and distribute the material that affected areas need. That, the mission notes, is the advantage of work built on years of local relationships — when an emergency comes, nobody has to start by looking for contacts from outside.
The first phase of the response focuses on basic needs: temporary shelter, food, clothing, blankets, clean water, hygiene items and first aid, with medical help from doctors and nurses wherever it can be arranged. Beyond that lies reconstruction, support for livelihoods, and counselling and spiritual care for people who have lost relatives, homes and much of their former security. For local Christians the spiritual side is a natural part of the response — being close to those affected, listening, praying with them and sharing Christian hope while practical needs are met.
The visit also carried moments of encouragement. Rosenqvist was able to see again a small girl the mission had earlier helped fund heart surgery for; she is recovering well, and the most visible sign of what she has been through is the operation scar, which is expected to fade. During the same trip a school for 300 children in Jhapa was inaugurated — a reminder, the mission writes, that alongside large projects and disaster response, comparatively modest help given to individual people and families can carry great weight.
(Originally published in Swedish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Missionskyrkan i Finland / Evangelistmissionen — https://mkf.fi/2026/10/08/katastrofhjalp-och-langsiktigt-arbete-i-nepal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=katastrofhjalp-och-langsiktigt-arbete-i-nepal
