by Cecil Laguardia, Communications, Nepal Earthquake Response
Immediately after the 25 April 2015 earthquake hit Nepal, World Vision responded to the needs of survivors– urgent on its agenda was providing clean water in seven affected districts to avoid an outbreak of water-borne diseases that often follows a massive emergency. The districts included Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Sindhuli, and Lamjung.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Manager Qusai Smirat said the response team faced difficulties with the country’s hazardous terrain and remote locations of the hardest-hit areas.
He added, “Potable drinking water is necessary for the people. While they have been getting their supply for years in nearby rivers and streams, these sources can become contaminated during a disaster for many reasons– such as landslides, dead animals, among others.”
World Vision launched the distribution of water purification tablets including Aquatabs and water bags. With many of the survivors new to the usage, the WASH team trained volunteers with the help of village development committees to talk to people why it was important and how to use them properly.
Smirat said, “We faced a difficult task of doing this door-to-door because the houses are far apart and it was a challenge for the villagers to gather in one area, requiring them to walk for hours. They have already gone through so much." Sometimes the WASH team got lucky when at least 10 families could gather and attend the community orientation that also included education on sanitation and hygiene.
Aquatabs are effervescent purification tablets, which kill microorganisms in water to prevent cholera, typhoid, dysentery and other water borne diseases. They are available in a range of tablet sizes. Each tablet size is formulated to treat a specific volume of water– ranging from 1L to 30L. Often used in emergency situations, they are also useful for continuous use in households that do not have access to safe drinking water.
Three months after the disaster, the 5-member WASH team, working with 300 volunteers, has so far distributed over 5 million purification tablets for 30,000 families at 450 tablets per family. Each tablet was either 33mg or 67mg depending on the availability of supplies. The former can purify at least 10 liters of water while the latter at least 20 liters.
World Vision also worked to restore 15 water systems and constructed seven new ones benefitting over 100,000 people. Water-tap stands were set-up where people in the communities could get their potable drinking supply.
Apart from working in remote conditions, the teams faced a shortage of locally sourced construction supplies. Often, they need to bring in skilled labour to do the jobs. Many of the skilled Nepalis were either working abroad or in the cities, and had left their villages to earn better income.
The odds were daunting but Smirat said it was fulfilling to see that after the few months of hard work, they were able to respond to the needs and improve the way people think about the importance of clean water wherever they are.
“Understanding this necessity has to be done step by step in the communities. It was like breaking barriers since most of them have accepted taking water anywhere as a way of life without thinking of the impact on their health and well-being,” he added.
Deployed for the emergency from the Syria Response based in Jordan, Smirat was faced with the challenge of not having the supplies he needed to make the delivery as fast as he wanted to. He learned to be resourceful to make the goal happen.
“That is the job expected of us as emergency workers – make things happen despite the conditions,” he concluded.
In between the work, a contingency plan was developed together with the village development committees and local and international partners that aim to minimize the adverse health effects of the ongoing monsoon season and strengthen the people’s preparedness on unforeseen disasters.