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Joy Mingles with Heartbreak as WTF Delegation Inaugurates Nepal Pilot Project
Joy Mingles with Heartbreak as WTF Delegation Inaugurates Nepal Pilot Project
Sunday was a day of contrasts for the WTF humanitarian mission as it travelled to the worst-hit region of earthquake-struck Nepal. There was joy at the rapturous reception they received, followed by heartbreak at the apocalyptic devastation they witnessed.
On Day 3 of their fact-finding tour of the Himalayan nation, the delegation, led by WTF President Chungwon Choue, visited the Sindhupalchwok district to inaugurate a WTF Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) pilot project.
The WTF delegation, which arrived in Nepal on Jan. 29 for a weeklong visit, included a 15-memer WTF Taekwondo Demonstration Team and three of five WTF Continental Taekwondo Union presidents.
After a nearly three-hour drive from Kathmandu through winding, alpine roads, the delegation debussed outside the town of Khaandi Chaur, set in a river valley overlooked by steep-sided mountains.
A check for US$10,000, 300 taekwondo uniforms and three boxes of kicking pads were presented by the WTF delegation to local officials, before plaques of appreciation and citations were handed to Nepalese VIPs.
Then the WTF Demonstration Team took to the field. With their customary excellence, they performed high-altitude board breaks, self-defense techniques and gymnastic moves – spiced up with a funky routine to the latest Psy hit, “Daddy” and some Nepalese-inspired dance moves. They drew laughs, cheers and applause. The Demonstration Team were followed by troupes of traditional Nepalese dancers.
The delegation re-boarded their transport and continued driving. Across the district, 3,640 people were killed by the April 2015 earthquake, 20,000 were injured and 70,000 homes were badly damaged. While the town of Khaandi Chaur itself did not appear heavily impacted, the scenes several miles up the road were somber.
Buildings in all the villages and towns were interspersed with piles of bricks and rubble. In a surreal sight, several houses and pylons had subsided into a river. Then the convoy passed through a kilometer-long stretch of what looked like a lunar landscape – pile after pile after pile of giant boulder. The result of a calamitous landslide, it was a scene of almost Biblical destruction.
With the pilot project inaugurated, it is now incumbent upon the THF to deliver hope to thousands of children like Khadka across Nepal – by giving them a gift will build their physiques, forge their characters and help them overcome their traumas.
That responsibility was fully understood by Choue. “This is just the beginning,” the WTF leader promised. “There will be more help in the future – more help in the coming days.”
Source: WTF
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