With monsoon season quickly approaching, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is working with Caritas Nepal to get relief supplies to thousands of those whose lives and livelihoods were shaken by the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks before roads become nearly impassable.
“During monsoon season, moving construction materials and relief goods will be very difficult or impossible,” said Jen Hardy, CRS Regional Information Officer for Asia. “That’s why we are working so fast to give families the materials they need right away – we know they need to make their emergency shelters as strong as possible, as quickly as possible, to make the rains more bearable.”
Some 575 households in hard hit communities, mainly in the Gorkha district west of Kathmandhu, have already received items to construct transitional shelters – the first step toward permanent rebuilding — such as corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheeting, tool kits, nail kits and sleeping materials. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) kits have gone to 1,282 households.
The WASH supplies include rehydration salts, water storage containers, sanitary cloths, bathing and laundry materials and dental supplies, enough to last three months, until the end of monsoon season. CRS plans to provide kits to an additional 560 households over the next couple of days.
On April 25th, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, killing at least 8,669 people and destroying an estimated 500,717 houses, with several hundred thousand more damaged. Two weeks later, on May 12th, a 7.3 magnitude aftershock exacerbated these conditions and made it significantly difficult to reach certain areas of the country.
However, CRS plans to dispatch trekking teams and logistics staff to the Northern Gorkha District, which is currently cut off, to survey the region and make arrangements for the distribution of shelter materials. In the Central Gorkha District, CRS and Caritas will give cash grants to vendors to repair and construct infrastructure. In addition, CRS and Caritas have collaborated with Mega Bank Nepal Ltd. to donate cash to some 1,300 households in Southern Gorkha.
Over the course of the coming weeks, CRS intends to provide assistance to over 6,000 households in the Northern, Central and Southern Gorkha Districts. Currently, an assessment is being made to determine the amount of labor needed to clear debris and rebuild.
CRS has committed $10 million to a 3 year program for relief in Nepal. The target reach of this proposal is 15,000 families, an estimated 75,000 people total. The immediate priority is in providing emergency relief; however, CRS intends to remain committed to the people of Nepal for years to come, as they undergo a process of rebuilding.