In Nepal Cordaid is supporting some 500 displaced families in 4 camps. They lost their houses and income after the April and May 2015 earthquakes. We provide drinking water, business skills trainings and help mountain farmers adapt to lowland agriculture.
Cramped settings, minimal facilities
These families are living in very cramped settings with minimal facilities on the slopes of the mountain. Unfortunately there is no adequate land in the valleys available to provide shelter for them and they can’t go back to their destroyed homes because the area is inaccessible or no longer exists.
New homes, but not for the majority of IDPs
Cordaid’s shelter program is in full swing. The first of 380 earth quake proof houses have been built and families have moved in their new homes.
But thousands of IDPs don’t have such luck. They don’t have a home to return to and the government is doing very little for them. We have been advocating for their rights. “But this is a long process”, explains Cordaid humanitarian worker Margriet Verhoeven. “And as the funding for our IDP support program in Nepal stops in April next year, we want to make sure the displaced families know how to effectively raise their voices, to advocate for their rights and to gain access to the relevant government officials who are responsible for resettlement programs and IDP support.
Our team in Nepal has been very successful in the IDP camps in Laharepauwa. As the pictures show, dozens of families attended our awareness raising meetings. They are now actively advocating for their rights.
