Gift of the Givers Search-and-Rescue head Ahmed Bham was included in a Nepalese government emergency meeting on Friday (August 28), which was attended by the foreign minister, disaster management officials and other representatives.

Ladysmith Gazette reports that officials, including the minister, thanked the organisation for its intervention during the April 2015 Nepalese earthquake and for offering rapid assistance again. They inquired about the team’s composition, showing particular interest in the capability of the K9 units and asking several questions regarding the dogs.

Gift of the Givers team members, including SAPS dog handlers, met at 10:30 at their logistics facility in Johannesburg to prepare rescue equipment, citing a disaster magnitude substantially greater than official figures release suggest. A second search and recovery team has been placed on standby. While the Nepalese government has sufficient medical capacity, medical teams remain ready to deploy.

Nepalese Disaster Management confirmed that if a call for international assistance is made, Gift of the Givers will receive priority status to be received, hosted and integrated with local teams.

The organisation remains in contact with the families of the six missing South Africans and with Sulosh Pillay, who crossed safely into Tibet two days before the disaster.

Seven South Africans are in the disaster zone. Both Pillay and regional spiritual leader Mohanji are known to the organisation. Prashant Pokhrel, a South African music teacher living in Nepal, has offered assistance to locate the missing citizens, publishing their photos in local media and mobilising local networks.

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