The earthquakes of April and May 2015 will forever be imprinted in the minds and landscape of Nepal’s central districts; leaving more 8,000 people dead, and a half of a million homes destroyed. The resulting cracks are now etched in foothills of the Himalayas.
“We never really prepared for anything like this”- ACTED’s Distribution Officer Rana is young and vibrant, running from place to place to ensure each villager has a place in line to receive their corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheeting. These sheets, provided thanks to support from IOM and European Commission Humanitarian Aid, will enable villagers who lost their homes in the earthquakes to strengthen their temporary shelters for the oncoming monsoon and winter season.
“These people were completely caught by surprise when the earthquake struck in April. I myself lost my home in the first earthquake; my husband and I just got married and then our home just completely collapsed. That’s why I took this job; it makes me feel like I’m doing something, instead of just sitting around for things to get better on their own.”
“I’m a farmer, and the earthquake destroyed my crops- it split my land into pieces,” Dhanbahadur adds. “I’ve got nothing now- the food I grow, it’s just enough for me and my wife to eat, and now our stocks, along with our house, are completely destroyed. The land will require a lot of work to get back to where it was.” Dhanahadur is 60 years old, and he and his wife live alone in a remote village in Dolokha district of Nepal.
“This sheeting is important, as it will help us prepare a strong shelter for the monsoon season. As for building our house back, I don’t know how we’ll do it- all of our children live far away for work- we will have to see.”
Metal sheets to keep the rain out and strengthen shelters
Laxmi, a young mother of two, has a similar story, “We didn’t expect the first earthquake, which destroyed all of the buildings in our village, then when the second earthquake came, we were scared, scared that we’d never be able to have a home again. The people in our village, we all sleep in makeshift tents outside of our old homes, we have no idea where to go from here.” Laxmi’s two children play tag amongst the tall grass at the distribution point, and she voices her concern for their education, “The school is completely gone, so now the children are attending classes in a tent near the village centre. It’s okay for now, but when the monsoon comes, these metal sheets will be important to keep the rain out and strengthen the shelters we’ve made.”
ACTED plans to distribute approximately 9,000 CGI sheets to villagers across Dolokha district, and aims to reach 6,923 households with CGI sheeting in the course of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid funded project.