Javi and Estrella are from Spain. They arrived to Nepal as part of a group for the first time on April 24, 2015. Less than 24 hours after their arrival, the earth tremendously shook and killed thousands of people. They have never been that scared. A few days after the trauma, they were repatriated to Spain with fellow countrymen/women.

Strong ties united the members of the group among themselves, but also with the devastated country they dreamed of visiting. They quickly decided to work on a common project to help Nepal and its suffering people. They were going to write their stories and gather funds for them and the reconstruction.

Less than a year after the earthquake their collective book, Cuando Nepal Tembló [hyperlink going to the official page: http://www.editorialkolima.com/p…/cuando-nepal-temblo-papel/

or https://www.editorialkolima.com/categoria-producto/libros-solidarios/], was published and they were back to Nepal!

Cuando Nepal Tembló

Cuando Nepal Tembló contains the testimonies of several survivors of the earthquake that devastated much of Nepal on 25 April. It relates stories about destruction, confusion, pain and loss, and lead to a glimmer of hope.

The book gathers diverse voices and perspectives on the same event, different experiences in the same country at the same fatal hour. It is a cluster of reflections about what it means to survive a natural disaster and how some experiences change you forever. But is sharing our survival experience enough to heal hearts? In order to put definitively behind this experience, Estrella, Javi, and friends had to come back to the “crime scene.”

How to Heal Hearts? An Imperative Comeback to Nepal

A few days before the first year anniversary of the Gorkha Earthquake, Estrella, Javi, and friends landed for a second time in Nepal. They were nervous, anxious. During the night they had to spend in Delhi, Estrella said that she couldn’t sleep at all. She cried and wondered why she had this crazy idea of going back in a country where she almost died.

Back in Kathmandu, they followed the path they were supposed to follow a year before. On April 25, at 11:56, they were all with the same guide in Swayambhunath, known as the Monkey Temple, the place where they were when the earth shook a year ago. They were scared and even if nothing happened, they could feel the earth moving. This impression that the earth moving slowly went away as days passed by, and they slowly felt better.

During their stay, they finally visited Nepal and met the Nepali people. They exchanged their stories. But how to help? And whom? They looked around different organizations and, among all the NGO and INGO involved in the reconstruction, Estrella and Javi chose Rangjung Yeshe Shenpen and the Tamang community of Dhola. They gave the project a considerable part of the benefit of the book, 2500€ ($2,850). With this considerable amount, Shenpen will purchase:

• Two roofs
• Windows and doors on two houses

Shenpen’s team and the Tamang community of Dhola want to thank Javi and Estrella for offering the gifts of protection (roof), opportunity (doors), and clear vision (windows)!

A Story Without End

Estrella and Javi are wonderful ambassadors for Nepali people. They shared their experiences in a book but also in various media. Through different articles, they raised awareness of the situation in Nepal. We want to thank them for that.

http://www.farodevigo.es/suscriptor/estela/2016/04/10/marzo-record-ventas-electricos/1438611.html