Disaster Response Nepal Project #20322

Ama Ghar Community Earthquake Relief

by The Ama Foundation

Project Report | Aug 3, 2015
Helping Kids Displaced by the Earthquakes

By Cathy Clifton | Communications Director, Ama Foundation

Ramit, Badi Ram and Jeevan on their way to school

The earthquakes may be over, but along with the aftershocks, the effects of the earthquakes remain...

Imagine thousands of children between the ages of 4 and 17 who have lost their families, trying to find a safe place where they are not subject to the tempting offers of traffickers or the horrors of abuse. This is the situation in Nepal, and at Ama Ghar, we are working with anti-trafficking groups to help them find a safe haven - some of them in our home.

Thank you again for your generosity in supporting our earthquake relief fund. Your gifts helped us to provide shelter, solar power, medical supplies, hygiene supplies and child safe spaces to our neighbors and others in remote areas who had lost their homes in the earthquake. The next step for us is to help children displaced by the earthquake to find a loving home, nutrition, medical care and an education. If you'd like to help, please go to our new Displaced Children's Fund on Global Giving. Your kindness will give these children hope for a real future in the new Nepal that is rising from the rubble.

We have taken in eight new children at Ama Ghar since the earthquake; most of them were frightened and traumatized when they arrived, but our staff and children are doing everything they can to make them feel loved and welcome. Slowly, the tears are turning to smiles. Here are their stories:

Ram, age 12

Ama Ghar is the third home that he has been placed in since he has been on his own. He is suffering from trauma and getting regular therapy from a psychologist. In the meantime, he is having difficulty feeling comfortable in his new school, so our house mother, Uma, works with him at home. He will need time, but in the meantime we show him as much love as possible.

Laxman, age 9

Laxman, who is Ram’s younger brother, has started to show that he is getting settled in and engaging more with the other children. He seems to like school and is doing well, but what he really likes is playing caroms with his new Ama Ghar brothers and sisters.

Anjana, age 8

Anjana spent only two days at Ama Ghar before she began asking to go to school – she was ready right away, while others take more time to adjust. Anjana is quiet and doesn’t smile, as she lost her bottom front permanent teeth in an accident of some kind. She needs time to develop trust, but she is tentatively getting to know her new brothers and sisters.

Nirjala, age 6

Nirjala just arrived last week, and she hasn’t get go of the stuffed puppy she received on the first day. She is very, very thin and has a lot of infections on her skin. She has been seen by our wonderful Dr. Neelam Adhikari and she will heal quickly. She is very timid but is starting to explore.

Alisha, age 5

Alisha just arrived but is already sleeping well. She got a pink stuffed bear when she arrived, but it hasn’t held her interest. Her continued request is for “chewing gum” and “cheese balls”, both taboo items at Ama Ghar, poor little thing. She is quite talkative and likes to be with our house father, Bhesh.

Ramit, age 5

Another recent arrival, Ramit seems to be happy to get his uniform on and march off to school with the others. It did take him a few days to smile but he has been a busy boy with Lego and crayons. He seems to like vegetables which sets him apart from others!

Badi Ram, age 3

Badi Ram is a happy, smiling, very active little boy. He has become used to the older girls taking turns holding him, and he is quite the kisser – just show him your cheek and you get a kiss. He has started nursery school, and it will be a challenge for his teachers to manage his energy.

Jeevan, age 5

Jeevan is an active boy and loves the attention he gets from his new older sisters. On the surface he seems to be adjusting well. He still has trouble at night with bedwetting and being afraid of the dark. He is anxious to get ready for school and is a good eater.

Links:

Ama Foundation Website

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Jun 15, 2015
Life After the Earthquake

By Cathy Clifton | Communications Director, Ama Foundation

Jeevan, age 4 - the newest member of our family

Aftershocks are finally dying down - nothing over 4.0 these days, and they're fewer and farther between. But life will never be the same for those of us who lived through the experiences of the weeks since the earthquake.

At Ama Ghar, we are continuing our work to provide relief to those hardest hit in our area. Little by little, thanks to generous donors like you, we have been able to supply tarps, zinc panels and other building materials to our area so that families with children can build temporary homes to shelter them during the monsoon. It will be months and probably years before the lives of those who lost their homes have any semblance of normality, but Nepalis are strong, resilient and positivie people and are, as always, finding joy in the most difficult of circumstances.

The bright spots for us are many...

- We have seen firsthand how resourceful and compassionate our young people can be. At Ama Ghar, our alumni (ages 19-24) have come back to work with the older children still in the house to provide safe places for displaced children, improvise motorcycle delivery for building materials, photograph medicine labels with their phones so we would replace with the proper prescription, cut tarps and form assessment teams to ensure that materials got to those who needed them most. To date they have served over 800 families.

- Our pride in Ama Ghar youth extends to the youth of Nepal in general. Many youth groups didn't wait for international or government aid, but went right to work in their neighborhoods to help in any way they could. They continue to help in outlying areas that are at risk from landslides. We have faith in Nepal's future, thanks to our talented and committed youth.

- We have welcomed three new brothers to our family! Ram, age 12; his brother Laxman, age 9; and our youngest boy Jeevan, age 4. We are so thrilled to have these bright, sweet boys in our home and are spending lots of time helping them to become party of the Ama Ghar family.

This will be the last project report from the Community Earthquake Fund Project, as we are fully funded for relief. But we are opening a new project, the Ama Ghar Displaced Children Fund, which will help us to support the arrival of many new children who have been displaced by the earthquake - we didn't budget for the arrival of these additional children, so new funding is needed. If you are making a recurring donation, your gifts will be rolled over from the Community Earthquake Fund into the Displaced Children Fund.

We can only thank you again and again for your help during this terrible time. Thanks to you, our children have hope that they - and their country - will see a bright future.

Cutting tarps for distribution

Keeping children safe until they can be placed

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May 19, 2015
Healing Earthquake Anxiety

By Cathy Clifton | Communications Director, Ama Foundation

One of the most difficult things about living after two giant earthquakes - the one on April 25 and the 7.3 "aftershock" that occurred 17 days later - is the constant anxiety. Aftershocks of 5.0 and greater are still occurring at the rate of about four a day, and every time the earth shakes it's a reminder of how tenuous life really is here in Nepal.

It's especially difficult for children, who have been traumatized and don't really understand why their world has been shaken apart.Their parents worry constantly about how to keep the children safe and engaged in productive play or study. A team of the older Ama Ghar girls, led by Pratima Bista, who is studying for her Bachelor's in Social Work, have worked with our Country Director to create a "Child Safe Space" where parents can bring their children to enjoy play, study and a snack in a tent they put up in the open space near our ruined school. Pratima reported that "at first they were crying and scared to come with us, but now they are laughing and playing together every day. Their parents are so grateful and happy."

We are also working with other NGO's to create Child Safe Spaces in the tent camps where displaced children can come to live and be safe until their families can be located. Thanks to your generous gifts, Ama Ghar has just funded an entire kitchen setup, from appliances to pans to food, for one of these safe places.

The other priority right now is to ensure shelter for every family before the monsoon rains. We have received a large truckload of tarps from USAID and are currently distributing them to about 380 families. In addition, we are sourcing and purchasing zinc plates that can be used to create a more secure temporary shelter until people can rebuild their homes.

We have been so inspired by the outpouring of compassion and generosity we have felt from our donors. From school children who have created their own fundraisers to a gentleman who made a donation to Ama Foundation on the day he died, the stories are so moving. Thank you for remembering us even after the media attention is gone - your contributions are making a huge difference in people's lives.

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