The Um Hong-gil Human Foundation (UHF) has announced today (September 11, 2026) that it is intensifying relief operations for survivors of the catastrophic flooding that struck Nepal on August 26, said the UHF press release.
The Um Hong-gil Human Foundation is an international relief and development NGO founded by renowned mountaineer Um Hong-gil with mission to reach out education and healthcare development projects and emergency relief activities in Nepal and other communities.
In Nepal, the natural catastrophes on August 26, 2026 caused mass casualties and claimed thousands of lives. Thousands of people are not known of their whereabouts including nine South Korean workers.
In the immediate aftermath, UHF focused its support on search-and-rescue operations. As the disaster response entered a longer-term phase, the Foundation shifted to a full-scale relief effort for displaced residents and affected institutions.
“Nepal is like a second home to me,” said Um Hong-gil Human Foundation (UHF) Chairman Um Hong-gil and added, “a place that made countless challenges and dreams possible.”
“We must come together with warm hearts to help Nepali families who suddenly lost their homes and loved ones in this flooding recover their everyday lives as soon as possible,” said Um Hong-gil, added the release.
Immediate after the disaster occurred in Nepal, UHF has been running an emergency relief fundraising campaign.
Chairman Um also had mobilized US $100,000 in emergency relief funds through the Foundation after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, and personally traveled to the affected areas as head of a Korean Red Cross emergency relief team to deliver food and daily necessities, it said.
UHF’s Nepal branch has been conducting on-the-ground damage assessments in cooperation with relevant agencies and local governments, and has been preparing relief activities designed to deliver meaningful, practical support.
UHF headquarters remitted its first round of relief funds to Nepal on September 3, with a second and third round of funding planned for the coming weeks.
On September 12, UHF will jointly carry out the emergency medicine distribution in the Uttar Gaya region together with Nepal Kathmandu Model Hospital, combining the Foundation’s relief funding with the hospital’s medical expertise to strengthen care for flood-affected residents.
Additional relief supplies Tents, school supplies, and daily necessities planned for three or more additional locations based on field assessments
Education infrastructure Foundation is reviewing a plan to build a combined classroom and shelter facility on a school site destroyed by the floods
The foundation has also announced “Special Scholarships” for students who lost family members in the flooding, it noted.
“Just as unwavering determination carried me to the summit through fierce blizzards and storms while climbing all sixteen of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, I am confident the people of Nepal will overcome this crisis as well. The Foundation will stand with them through every step of recovery,” added Chairman Um Hong-gil.
Drawing on his experience summiting all sixteen of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, Chairman Um said that just as unwavering determination carried him to each summit through fierce blizzards and storms, he is confident the Nepali people will overcome this crisis as well.
He pledged that the Foundation will stand with Nepal throughout the recovery process and urged people not to lose courage and hope.
