Mother Reunited With Son Who Climbed Trees to Survive Nepal Floods

In a poignant moment of reunion amidst devastation, an 8-year-old boy named Zoyal Ghale has been reunited with his mother, Matti Maya Tamang, after surviving Nepal's deadly floods by seeking refuge in trees. The harrowing ordeal left Zoyal with a broken leg and cuts on his face, necessitating his airlift from the severely affected northern district of Rasuwa.

Tamang had been desperately searching for her two sons, moving between shelters and collection points. The emotional toll was immense, as she recounted, "At the fourth place too, my children's names were not on the list, and they were not there. I had come to accept that both my children were no more. All I could do was weep. I couldn’t hold myself together at all."

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At the fourth place too, my children's names were not on the list, and they were not there. I had come to accept that both my children were no more. All I could do was weep. I couldn’t hold myself together at all.

Tamang's reunion with Zoyal was made possible through the intervention of a Reuters journalist, Sahana Bajracharya. After unsuccessful searches, Tamang obtained the journalist's contact information. Bajracharya had encountered Zoyal at a small hospital and, with his consent, agreed to be filmed in hopes of finding his family. Upon learning Zoyal was alive and being transferred to Kathmandu, Tamang expressed disbelief: "When you told me that you knew where Zoyal was, it didn't sound real. I had already given up that I would find them."

Adding to the relief, Tamang had already found her younger son alive. The boys were at school when the disaster struck, triggered by the collapse of a glacier near the Langtang Lirung mountain peak. The United Nations children's agency UNICEF estimates that at least 17,000 children have been affected by the floods in the Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading districts.

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When you told me that you knew where Zoyal was, it didn't sound real. I had already given up that I would find them.