Earthquake and disaster risk reduction in Nepal

PHASE Nepal’s work to help the recovery of areas affected by last year’s devastating earthquake is continuing. With most people still living in temporary shelters and public services being forced to operate in makeshift structures, permanent rebuilding is a huge priority for communities.

Ram Bahadur Thapa, principal of Seti Devi School – Tumpakhar tells us: “We are happy to have the 4 classrooms finished and have a good environment where our students can study. The blocks were both finished on time and thanks to the good coordination between PHASE Nepal and SWC (school management committee), the work went good and smoothly. 546 schools have been destroyed in Sindhupalchok and we are very grateful that PHASE Nepal and HDFA have chosen our school to support and rebuild. We are sure it will encourage our students to study more and better.”

PHASE is pleased to announce the completion of new permanent classroom blocks for two of the schools we support in Sindhupalchok – Jal Devi in Hagam and Seti Devi in Thumpakhar. Funded by UNHCR and HDFA, and built using earthquake-resistant designs, the classrooms are already in use! The spacious, well let and well insulated classrooms make a huge difference for the learning environment of the children.

Grade 10 students of Seti Devi say: “We are so happy with the new classrooms. In the TLC (temporary learning center), it is very hot and when it rains, we can hardly hear the teacher. We have to attend this year the SLC-exam (school leaving certificate) and we were very worried that we wouldn’t be able to study properly. But now, we have our new classrooms and we will work hard and study well so we can all pass the exam.”

Several more school blocks are being planned for the next few months, as well as the reconstruction of health posts for communities in Sindhupalchok and Gorkha. Wide-reaching water and sanitation projects are also underway, ensuring that communities have access to a safe water supply, and longer-term livelihood projects will improve food security and build resilience.

Slowly, the remote areas of Nepal where PHASE works, are emerging from this crisis. But there is a long way to go, and we won’t be able to realise our ambitious plans without the generous support from our donors across the world.

Parents of the students of Seti Devi say: “Times have been hard since the earthquake for us and also for the children. We have no proper place to live and this year, also the rains are delayed so we still couldn’t plant the rice. We have no choice but to work on the field as we didn’t have the opportunity to go to school so we want our children to go to school and have a good life later on. Sometimes they don’t want to go as it is hot in the class but now, with the new classrooms, they will go to school and they have no excuse but to study hard. Thank you very much for giving our children a good place to study! At least, we know now that they will be safe during the day when we are out in the fields.”

TODAY – 15^th June – is a unique opportunity for your donations to go further than ever before. Starting at 9.45am Nepal time, every donation you make through this link https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/nepal-earthquake-emergency-appeal/will be matched by an incredible 150%. That means that if you donate $10, PHASE will receive $25 to put towards our vital earthquake recovery work!!

Even if you are not able to donate, please consider letting your friends and networks know about this incredible offer by forwarding this email or sharing the link on social media!

Links:

• PHASE Nepal website
• Visit to Seti Devi School