A Hoole woman from Nepal whose family was torn apart by last month’s earthquake has told of her horror to hear her sister’s terrified cries down the phone as a second major quake struck the country this morning.
Maya Shyangba Hyolmo, 30, was due to fly home to Nepal tomorrow evening (May 13) after friends and classmates rallied together to buy her plane ticket, but must now wait to hear from travel agents if it is safe to return following today’s 7.3 magnitude quake.
Last month’s disaster claimed the lives of more than 8,000 people, including Maya’s mum Jangmu Sherpa.
Her dad Kaji Lama, managed to escape unharmed but was left homeless and forced to sleep outside with no clean clothes, food or water.
This morning’s quake hit a town close to Mount Everest, around 60 miles from Maya’s village Sarka Thali Helambu where her dad and teenage brother still remain.
Her younger sister Nima Diki Lama had only flown back to Nepal last week for a ritual ceremony for their mum and was in Kathmandu when the second quake hit.
Maya said: “I rang her as soon as I heard on the news what had happened and she was crying and running, it was terrifying. I could hear the shaking in the background and other people screaming.
“She told me not to go back, she said it’s too dangerous, it’s not safe.”
Maya, who is originally from a village called Sarka Thali Helambu, a few kilometres north east of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, saw how badly the area had been destroyed by last month’s earthquake and vowed to return home to be with her family and help get them back on their feet.
The hairdressing student at Coleg Cambria in Connah's Quay said she’d asked her sister to bring her dad and brother to the capital so she could speak to embassy officials about flying him to the UK to recover from the disaster.
She said: “He will not leave the village until June 7, seven weeks after my mum died. It’s part of our culture, a ritual to keep praying for lost loved ones.
“As soon as he comes to the city I want to bring him home. He has become very ill and if possible I want to apply to bring him to the UK as at the moment it’s really dangerous to live in our village as there’s no houses or water or food.
“I still want to fly to Nepal but I don’t know if I will tomorrow. I may change my flight and go next week and will spend around five weeks there.”
Maya’s classmate at Coleg Cambria, Samantha Jones of Flint, lead the donation campaign for her flights home.
Samantha will continue the fundraising drive by hosting a walk up Moel Famau on June 7 for Community Action Nepal to help those like Maya’s family who have been affected by the disaster.
To sponsor the event visit her JustGiving page or to join search Nepal Walk on Facebook.
