Lessons from Nepal’s past for families living without answers

Physical closure may never come for those lost in the flood. But by walking hand-in-hand with survivors, we can provide the resources and empathy needed to navigate the uncertainty.

Eleven days after the devastating Bhotekoshi flood, a 64-year-old woman was rescued from her house that had been pushed entirely off its base and 100 metres up a hillside, nearly entirely buried in mud. Days earlier, her family had already performed a symbolic kush (effigy) funeral for her and three other missing relatives.