Nepal continues to rebuild and recover in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015. The earthquake claimed nearly 9,000 lives, left many without jobs and destroyed more than 500,000 buildings. Two years on and the devastation lingers, however progress is being made.
Many of our charity partners, including Baptist World Aid, Oxfam, UNICEF, Caritas, and UN Women, responded to the emergency in April 2015 and are still engaged with the recovery efforts.
Just this month, the team taking part in Oxfam’s Journey to Nepal, completed an Annapurna trek to raise funds for the ongoing recovery efforts. They also had an opportunity to visit Virkot, one of the villages heavily affected by the earthquake.
“The devastation from the earthquake was evident as we drove through Kathmandu to the remote Virkot community. Kathmandu was still full of loose bricks, dust, half-collapsed buildings, and scaffolding everywhere but it was inspiring to see just how much progress had been made in this community since April 2015,” says Danny, the Inspired Adventures team leader with the group. “The villagers were excited to show our group around their rebuilt homes which were re-engineered to resist future shocks. Cash for work programs had also provided new road access, water pumps and toilets for their community. We were hosted for lunch outside one of their new homes overlooking the valley below. The whole team felt very grateful for the efforts of Oxfam and the other incredible on the ground NGOs who have aided communities like the one we were in since the earthquake.”
In addition to the International NGOs, there are many local organisations working on the rebuild. For example, local Kathmandu hotel Dwarika’s established a foundation that has managed Camp Hope, a camp for earthquake survivors who lost their homes in the disaster. Many of their residents came from Sindhupalchowk, where over 80% of houses were destroyed.
The project also aims to introduce new earthquake-resistant homes with added eco-features like rainwater harvesting, solar power, biogas systems and organic agriculture. You can learn more about the program here. Tourism has historically formed a large part of Nepal’s economy and you can help by visiting now and supporting local business. And of course, our charity partners’ efforts continue and donations will help those still waiting for their homes and lives to be rebuilt.
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