CAIRNS community leader Som Tamang has returned to his village in Nepal, nine years after it was destroyed by earthquakes.
The persistent ringing of a phone broke the silence of a sombre day of remembrance, Anzac Day, 25 April 2015, in the Cairns home of Nepalese-born Som Tamang.
He answered and heard his older sister screaming hysterically before the line went dead.
“There’s been an earthquake,” Som relayed in shock to his partner and children.
Som’s brother Amber was among 9,000 people killed in Nepal during the earthquakes in April and May 2015.
Amber was the President of Batase School and the head of Som’s humanitarian organisation, Friends of Himalayan Children in Nepal.
Both the children’s hostel and the school were destroyed.
Som is currently visiting Batase Village to mark the 9th anniversary of the earthquake and share his recently published biography, penned by Cairns journalist Kirsty Nancarrow.
“I first interviewed Som in Cairns for the ABC in 2015 when he was mounting the first of many aid missions back to Nepal to help Batase and other remote villages that were left without food, shelter and power after the disaster,” Himalayan Dreams author Kirsty Nancarrow said.
“Having reported on many natural disasters, I knew the impact would be long term, so I volunteered for a month in Som’s village, teaching in the makeshift Batase School in late 2016, and assisting with recording the stories and images of children who needed sponsorship.”
By providing access to hostel accommodation, meals and school resources, Som has helped save a generation in his village from human trafficking and child marriage.
It inspired Ms Nancarrow to write Som’s biography and she returned to Nepal at the end of 2018 to gather interviews for the book.
“Som escaped from slavery as a child and knew the power of education to change lives,” she said.
“The earthquake is one of many seemingly insurmountable setbacks Som has overcome in his life to secure a better future for Batase’s children.”
Himalayan Dreams: The Story of Som Tamang is the remarkable biography of a man with a singular purpose: to improve the lives of children in rural Nepal through education.
It includes stories of many of the children he has helped, and gives readers an insight into Nepal’s political history, culture, and landscapes through both Som’s eyes and the experiences of volunteers and visitors.
Som has lived in Cairns since 2003 and became the first person from Batase Village to earn a degree. His humanitarian work has been recognised with a Pride of Australia Medal and Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship.
“I would not have been able to rebuild the children’s hostel following the earthquake and continue the education of children in my village without the support of the Cairns community,” Som said.
Som’s dream is to complete the final two Grades at Batase School so students don’t have to abandon their education or move several hours away after Grade 10.
Tax deductible donations can be made through the Rotary Australia World Community Service Friends of Himalayan Children project.
Himalayan Dreams: The Story of Som Tamang was written with the help of a Regional Arts Development Grant from the Cairns Regional Council and published with the help of south-east Queensland resident Elizabeth McLean, who read an article about the book and was inspired to support the project.
Kirsty and Som met Elizabeth for the first time at the official launch on March 2.
The book is available through www.kirstynancarrow.com and online booksellers worldwide.
Keep up with the latest news in Cairns and the Far North, and check out some of our top stories this week: Post-cyclone aid hubs available and Cairns Regional Council CEO resigns.
