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News Update from Kira Kay, founder of Hands-with-Hands
Deutsch Version in Kürze verfügbar auf HwH Website
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One year on from the 2015 Nepal earthquakes – what is it like now in Nepal?
 
I am thankful that I was in Nepal exactly at the time of the 7.9 Earthquake on April 25th 2015. While it was shocking and traumatic, being present with the immediate effects of the earthquake gave me a depth of empathy and understanding for the physical destruction and psychological consequences.

(Details of our emergency relief and ongoing support: http://handswithhands.com/news.html)
 
I’ve spent almost six months in Nepal since. My love for this country and its people has deepened through witnessing such resilience in the face of hardship, so much kindness and working together. At the same time, it’s heartbreaking to witness the confusion and dysfunctions on government, INGO, private and local levels in ensuring rebuilding ... To put it very simply, it’s complicated!

The Sindhulpalchok District is an area I’ve grown to love over 15 years of collaborating with Neel Shahi (TEAM Nepal) in various school projects, and was one of the ones most affected by the earthquakes. More than half of the deaths occurred there, and well more than 85% of homes and schools there were totally destroyed.
 
Taking friends to visit has been challenging – pointing out the tin shelters and tents that are the temporary homes of the local villagers, then identifying piles of rocks with weeds already growing in them as their former homes, schools and businesses; explaining that the big swaths of gravel on the hillsides are recent landslides triggered by aftershocks and have displaced whole villages, covered roads, and cut off access; revealing that many water supplies have dried up as the earth has shifted, making daily life and agriculture more difficult and time consuming; pointing out that, as a consequence of infrastructure damage, electricity supplies are sometimes limited to 8 hours a day.
Temporary Homes
Sindhulpalchok
Temporary school
Sindhuli
Former Home
Sindhulpalchok
I’ve heard the stories of many Nepali friends who lost their homes and family members. Many have also lost their livelihoods, personal possessions, legal documents and more – so much simply lost in the rubble and dust. Yet the smiles and the willingness to work to rebuild remain, even if the vulnerability is very alive in their eyes.
 
The scale of rebuilding Nepal is massive and has hardly begun. Hundreds of thousands will live another monsoon (June-August) in temporary shelters. By now those shelters have a look of “home” about them, but that doesn’t change the reality that they are stifling hot in the summer and chillingly cold in the winter. People often walk hours to ensure water supplies for survival, and many have worked hard and planted their seasonal crops. If you ask them about their situation they frequently reply with a big smile, “ke garne?” – “well, what to do?” – and carry on.
 
The one point international seismologists agree on is a strong probability of another big earthquake in matter of years. In my mind, the consequences of this are much more catastrophic than the 2015 Earthquakes. So I turn my focus to rebuilding safely.
 
Our first “on-the-job” earthquake-resilient, eco-rebuilding training is currently underway!  Eight classrooms at Naryansthan Higher Secondary School and one Example residential Home building. We’re constructing the school buildings with compressed earth bricks (CEB) made on location from local mud and sand. The roof is bamboo truss and matting with CGI sheets for waterproofing. The Example Home is constructed from local stone with engineering techniques that ensure earthquake resilience, and the government-approved designs can be replicated throughout Nepal. Our aim is to blend what villagers already know with proven techniques to show what is possible.
 
Our first experiential project will complete by June and our next location will begin directly after the monsoon. We continue working and sharing knowledge with on-the-job trainings, building manuals in local language, and vocational training centers. I follow up with talks with youths to engage younger minds and bodies in their own futures. These may seem only small steps considering the scale of rebuilding required, but as mountain people well know, every step matters!
Our DOMO tents continue to serve as secure, safe shelters for our children in Sipadol village while their Home is being repaired. Children in Talamarang are living in a DOMO student Hostel enabling them to attend school. Our various other long-term initiatives – children homes, microcredit, agricultural trainings, computer labs and libraries for schools – continue to develop and contribute to the lives of Nepalese people. Witnessing the empowerment and uplifting of lives is truly a gift.
I love Nepal – the culture, the nature, the sense of community and humanity that, in our Western cultures, we’ve sometimes lost touch with. The open-hearted people of Nepal inspire me.
 
Therefore I heartily encourage you to visit Nepal! If you keep in mind that you are visiting a country that has recently undergone a major natural disaster, you will likely keep yourself safe and also make a much-needed contribution to the local economy. Visiting, whether for tourism or adventure, can help this country regain its economic stability. If you’re a business-minded person, consider a potential business partnership. (Nepal’s carpets and handicrafts are world-renowned!) Further earthquakes are highly probable, so if you have health considerations or experience anxiety easily, look at supporting in other ways.
 
Super big thanks to everyone who has helped me/us in this past year since the Earthquake. I sincerely wish that you stay in touch and continue to help however you can to enable our continued work in Nepal.
 
Heartfelt greetings, biggest of hugs, and much, much love & appreciation!
Kira Kay (founder of Hands-with-Hands)
 
Donate via our website: http://www.handswithhands.com/donations-building-better-futures.html
For Continued News updates:
 
( my own contribution and work in Nepal is entirely voluntary and self funded, and many others volunteer of their time and resources to help HwH projects in Nepal – meaning that aside from very basic administration costs all donations directly support in Nepal. )
Our mailing address is:
Hands-with-Hands
Neumann Str. 132
Berlin 13189
Germany

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