It was around 12 pm in the afternoon of June 15, 2021. Thirty-eight-year-old Bikram (name changed) of Melamchi Municipality was working in the field along with his ten other friends when the flash flood came with no warning and swept them away.
“I was washed over around 300 meters away from my field. As I passed, I managed to reach out and grab the tree. My mouth was filled with mud, and my body didn’t have the strength to shout for help. At that time, my plan was to hold on until the water receded,” said Bikram.
Shocked, tossed, and buffeted, after nearly one hour, Bikram finally managed to pull himself out of the water and made it to shore on his own. Although he survived, Bikram later learned that seven of his friends were pronounced dead at the scene.
Ever since that incident, Bikram said that he has been suffering from flashbacks of the flood and has trouble sleeping. “Every night, I see flood washing my friends and me away. It is none less than seeing ghosts in a dream. I am scared when the picture of a river comes into my mind,” said Bikram.
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Caption: Flood in Melamchi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality of Sindupalchowk district.
The massive flood and landslides at Melamchi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok district have left behind many lives shattered by physical injury, including the death of loved ones and the loss of the properties and houses. The road is submerged in a thick layer of mud, sand and water. On top of that, monsoon rain is still pouring, and floods and landslides are ongoing phenomena right now. Some people are living inside makeshift tents, while initially, some had taken refuge in the nearby schools and municipality offices.
Such losses have further caused psychological wounds on the survivors like Bikram, who, as a result, are experiencing deep grief, fear, nightmares, insomnia, stress, mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
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Caption: Some flood survivors are living inside makeshift tents, while some have taken refuge in the nearby schools and municipality offices.
“Many survivors have lost everything, including their family members. They are worried about how they will be able to bounce back in the absence of financial support, and that is making them anxious,” said Jiban Bhattarai, a psychosocial counsellor at WOREC.
Bhattarai further said that in such a situation, delayed relief and mental health responses, prolonged instability about where to live and lost income could further threaten mental health.
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Caption: Clothes that survivors were able to retrieved from their houses, are seen hanging inside the classroom of the nearby school.
Thirty-four-year-old Shanti (name changed) has been left devastated after her four-storey house was washed away in floodwaters. For Shanti, it has been like reliving a nightmare since the 2015 Earthquake had also damaged her home, after which she and her husband had taken a loan to reconstruct the house.
“We have worked for more than 20 years to build our house. On top of that, we have yet to pay the loan we took to reconstruct our house after the 2015 earthquake damaged it. Now, we own nothing. Our house and all our money have been swept away by the flooded Melamchi river,” said Shanti
Shanti also said that she has suffered from insomnia and heart palpitation.
“I am in pain. I am worried about how we will earn a living in the future, and I am concerned about my children’s education. Despite everything, I have to hide my emotions to look strong for the sake of my children,” said Shanti.
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Caption: Psychosocial counselling session with flood survivors.
Since natural disasters such as flooding and landslides can pose substantial mental health problems that may continue over an extended period of time, various studies suggest that along with providing food and shelter to the survivors, long term deployment of mental health services should also be prioritized.
To address the need for psychosocial interventions, for the past 23 days, 11 psychosocial counsellors from WOREC and Tarangini Foundation have been continuously providing psychosocial support at different sites in the Sindupalchowk district in the coordination of Melamchi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality.
The psychosocial intervention is the joint effort of WOREC and Tarangini Foundation under the ‘Together’ (Hami Sanghai Chau) campaign, aiming to provide longer-term mental health needs and support to the flood survivors.
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Caption: Group Psychosocial counselling and orientation sessions with flood survivors.
“Psychosocial counsellors have been visiting displaced sites to provide Psychological First Aids (PFAs), individual and group psychosocial counselling sessions and art therapy to the children to reduce the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and also to enhance the emotional, social and physical wellbeing,” said Sunita Mainali, a program coordinator at WOREC, who arrived in Melamchi Municipality six days after the massive flood of June 15.
Mainali has been staying in Melamchi Municipality to coordinate with the psychosocial counsellors, local government and other organizations.
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Caption:Psychosocial counsellors have been providing self-care sessions such as yoga and exercise for adolescent girls, children and women on a daily basis.
Mainali informed that 499 survivors have already received PFA/individual counselling, including follow-up sessions and orientations in Melamchi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality. Accordingly, psychosocial counsellors have also been organizing art therapy for children, self-care sessions such as yoga and exercises for adolescent girls and women on a daily basis.
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Caption: Children with their arts at art therapy class
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Caption: Along with psychosocial counselling sessions, psychosocial counsellors are also providing art therapy sessions to students.
Bikram and Shanti are among those who received psychosocial counselling from the psychosocial counsellors.
According to Jiban Bhattarai, a psychosocial counsellor at WOREC, Bikram has received two psychosocial counselling sessions and will soon receive the third session.
“In the counselling session, we allow individuals such as Bikram and Shanti to feel heard and understood, and we try to reinforce positive self-esteem in them. We also seek to restore the capacity of the survivors to cope with the emergency situation by assisting them in navigating with a relief emergency program,” said Bhattarai.
Bikram said that sitting in the first two counselling sessions and sharing his thoughts with the counsellor has helped him cope with his situation. “Although I may still need some time to get back to being normal, I think I will be gradually fine. I think there is still hope for me,” expressed Bikram.
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Caption: Psychosocial counsellors with flood survivors.
Shanti, too informed that she was able to sleep after undergoing breathing exercises. “I hadn’t slept for ten days due to the anxiety and stress. Breathing exercises have helped me to forget about my pain at least for some time,” said Shanti.
Shanti further said that talking to the counsellor has made her feel safe to know that “there are people that I can express myself.”
Since emotional pain is usually hidden at the outset, but it often lingers for a longer period, Rupa Bhattarai, a psychosocial counsellor at WOREC, believes that the mental health services provided by WOREC and Tarangini Foundation will at least help to deescalate the trauma-related behaviours in many survivors.
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Bhattarai, who is in Chauri Kharka of Helambu Rural Municipality to provide psychosocial counselling, said that despite the pandemic and ongoing flood and landslides, every day, she, along with seven other psychosocial counsellors, walks for two to three hours to provide door to door counselling sessions to the survivors.
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Caption: Psychosocial counsellors walk for two to three hours to provide door to door counselling sessions to the survivors.
“People here are in desperate need of food relief and a place to resettle. But they also appreciate our effort to provide them mental health support,” said Bhattarai,
As for now, Bikram is in regular contact with psychosocial counsellor Jiban Bhattarai through the phone.
“The psychosocial counsellor came to my home and provided me psychosocial first aid followed by individual psychosocial counselling. This process has also made me realize the importance of talking about one’s mental health problem openly. After all, mental illness is like anyone illness. With continuous psychosocial intervention, I will feel good again,” said Bikram.