Nepal Earthquake Project

Background

Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake on 25 April, 2015 which killed over 8000 people, injured more than 20,00 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The earthquake caused devastation havoc not only in the areas surrounding Gorkha (the epicentre) but also in the capital city Kathmandu and surrounding areas. Close to Kathmandu, Lalitpur is a combination of urban and rural areas. Parts of Lalitpur and the 28 Village Development Committees are rural, with limited infrastructure and roads, limiting access to this area. It is a poor community which depends on low ration stocks and day to day subsistence farming. The earthquake decimated the homes in these villages. The villagers had no shelter and in the immediate aftermath, no tarps or tents over their heads. The media and relief attention, as well as most funds, were focussed on the other districts around the epicentre and the remote villages of Lalitpur were largely being neglected. However the villagers were in immediate need of shelters and relief operations to help them cope with the devastation, particularly as rains continued and the monsoon got closer.

Project

A local group formed to support these villages, made up of a few key professionals and supported by friends and family. In the immediate aftermath whilst relief agencies and coordinated relief efforts were not responding in this area, this group made sure the villagers had the basics they needed to survive the devastation. Basic Foundations supported this group to help procure local materials, especially tarps and other resources for making shelter and some blankets, rice and water. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to lose everything (including loved ones) and then still to have nowhere to go to, no shelter, no food or water so we were pleased to be able to offer some assistance.