Nepal: Families move into new homes two years after deadly earthquakes

New home - image Caritas Nepal

Families in Nepal are now moving into new homes - built by local masons trained in earthquake-resilient techniques - after two massive earthquakes on 25 April and 12 May 2015 destroyed thousands of homes.

Giovanna Reda, Head of Humanitarian Programmes for Asia, Middle East and Latin America at aid agency CAFOD, said: “Our humanitarian response includes supporting local partners to run training workshops with people from affected communities, so they can build safer homes that can withstand earthquakes.

“Women were disproportionately affected by the impacts of the earthquake - many lost their husbands and homes - and these workshops have been a lifeline for the women involved, allowing them to learn new skills and earn a living from them.

“Progress is being made to rebuild and recover. We are thrilled to report that thousands of families across earthquake-affected areas have now received reconstruction grants and re-building is underway.”

Those involved in the relief and reconstruction efforts in Nepal have faced many challenges over the last two years, including monsoon rains blocking roads, fuel shortages and price hikes due to blockades along the Indian border, as well as delays in establishing the government’s National Reconstruction Authority that coordinates housing reconstruction.

Despite these difficulties, Giovanna Reda said: “From the darkness of the disaster, communities are building back better and safer”.

CAFOD supporters across England and Wales raised more than £3.9 million to support the people of Nepal, enabling the aid agency to work in 15 of the worst-hit areas of the country, including Gorkha, Rasuwa, Kavrepalanchok, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk districts.

Giovanna Reda said: “The generosity and compassion shown by CAFOD’s supporters has enabled our partners to restore dignity of the people affected and help those who survived the earthquakes to rebuild and prosper”.

More than five million people were affected by the two earthquakes in April and May 2015. In the immediate aftermath CAFOD and its partners reached hundreds of thousands of people with vital aid, including food, shelter and hygiene and sanitation kits and warm materials to help them through the winter.

As well as the safer homes rebuilding projects, CAFOD has also supported local partners to rebuild schools, repair damaged water systems, and help communities restore their means of making a living, for example through re-establishing agricultural and livestock work. CAFOD’s partners have also been working in communities to help people be better prepared for any future disasters.