25 April 2019 marks the 4th anniversary of the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in which 9,000 people died and more than half a million people lost their homes. The reconstruction and rehabilitation process in Nepal is still not completed mostly due to lack of funds. More than 230,000 earthquake-affected houses are still under construction, 3,400 damaged school buildings and numerous health posts, historical buildings and other infrastructures still need to be repaired in the affected areas.
As executive director of Aide à l’Enfance de l’Inde et du Népal (AEIN), I’ve just returned from a monitoring visit of the earthquake affected areas of Kavrepalanchowk, Bhaktapur and Sindhupalchowk. AEIN was one of the first Luxembourgish NGOs which immediately helped the victims in the affected districts.
When I visited Nepal in October 2015, the needs of the people I met in the devastated villages were huge. Most of the victims were living in temporary shelters or cracked houses and had lost most of their livelihood. At that time, it was not easy to select the neediest people for which AEIN’s support would make a difference. Thanks to the financial support of the Luxembourg Ministry of Development Cooperation and private donors, AEIN and its local partner Association for Rural Development (ARD) reconstructed 4 high schools and 1 early childhood centre for 1,600 students and equipped them with educational material, benches and desks and provided access to drinking water for 1,350 pupils in the district of Kavrepalanchowk. Three water tanks and 7 water supply systems were also constructed for 1,260 families in the project area.
In Bhaktapur district, no international NGOs were present to help the earthquake victims. All the organisations rushed to the epicentre of the earthquake and left after some time. AEIN then decided to support the rehabilitation efforts of Manabiya Aastha Nepal (MAN) in Bhaktapur by constructing one school in the village of Naichal and supporting 270 children without means in paying their school fees and helping hundreds of women and young people to earn again a living through vocational trainings and sustainable agriculture.
A reconstructed school building. Photo: AEIN
However, the most challenging project AEIN supported was the reconstruction of the entire village of Bisdeutar, which was one of the worst affected areas where 12 people died, dozens were injured and almost all of the 56 private houses were damaged. Mana Majhi, aged 106, was in her home on the day of the earthquake. The top storey of her house immediately collapsed after the first tremour and she got trapped in the rubble. Luckily her family managed to pull her out.
AEIN and Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) Nepal were among the first NGOs in the district of Sindhupalchowk which successfully completed their reconstruction project. However, it took them 3 years to finish this challenging project by having to overcome many administrative hurdles and other challenges. The community people finally moved into their new homes on Christmas Eve 2018.
On 12 April 2019, an official handover ceremony took place in the village during which I handed over the 56 private houses with separate toilets to the quake-affected villagers, in the presence of local government officials and journalists. Beneficiaries are happy that after almost four years, they now have a better place to stay. Panche Majhi said that the new homes gave the people a chance to start a new life. “We now have become proud house owners with a permanent address”.
AEIN and WOREC received an appreciation letter from Indrawati rural municipality for their impeccable role and generous contribution to build the 56 earthquake resistant houses along with the implementation of other sustainable livelihood activities. A proud moment in the history of AEIN!