‘Your help is extremely needed’: Jewish aid group on the ground after Nepal flood

In the aftermath of the catastrophic flash flood that struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on August 26, the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC or “The Joint”) has swung into action, with its aid workers providing critical relief.

Triggered by a glacial collapse, the wall of water that crashed through the remote region has so far claimed 1,342 lives, according to media reports on September 7. Some 5,000 people remain unaccounted for, among them 30 Jews, including two Israelis.

JDC Australia emphasised the major role that Jewish Australians can play in supporting the 112-year-old global Jewish aid organisation’s relief effort.

TJI was able to conduct a Zoom interview with two key Israeli JDC officials who are on the ground in Nepal.

Avital Sandler-Loeff, executive director of JDC’s humanitarian services, and Mickey Noam-Alon, JDC’s director of disaster response, arrived in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, on Friday, September 4, and visited the disaster zone. They will remain stationed in Nepal for several days, coordinating JDC’s relief effort.

The JDC officials are applying the organisation’s policy of operating through local aid workers who are familiar with local conditions.

“These are people who know the community from within, who have all the right networks, who are coordinated with local government. We first and foremost design the intervention in partnership with them, and help them with our perspective from working in disasters globally in the last 50 years,” said Sandler-Loeff.

“That represents value. We can work with them on the ground – they can travel, they speak Nepali, which I unfortunately don't. It's really been as local as possible and supported as internationally as needed. That's been our approach, and it's been very efficient.”