Nepal Earthquake: ActionAid Nepal in Relief for Community Reconstruction. 18th June, General Status Update

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Everett Higgins
5 years ago
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18th June, 2015 General Status Update The devastating earthquakes on April 25 th and May 12 th in Nepal took away many lives, left many injured but also caused a lot of physical damages.

But however the number seems to be increasing every day. Many organizations have been actively involved in the relief for the victims.

1 18th June, 2015 General Status Update The devastating earthquakes on April 25 th and May 12 th in Nepal took away many lives, left many injured but also caused a lot of physical damages. Most of all it left many people injured, traumatized and shocked. By now the earthquake has taken the lives of 8792 people and has left people injured. But however the number seems to be increasing every day. Many organizations have been actively involved in the relief for the victims. Now the priority has shifted to reconstruction and rehabilitation. Monsoon is on its way which is expected to increase the extent of the problem in Nepal. People need to have a safe place for shelter that could save them from the cruelty that monsoon could bring. The probability of many landslides has been seen and floods could also be expected. Moreover even at present, the temperature has been rising very unexpectedly all over Nepal houses have been fully damaged and houses have been partially damaged due to the earthquake. The schools have finally opened after the earthquake but 8308 schools have been affected and classrooms have been fully damaged.

2 ActionAid in Dolakha District Dolakha is one of the 14 districts that were worst hit by the earthquakes of 25 th April and 12 th May in Nepal. 170 people lost their lives in the same disaster while 662 people have been injured houses have been fully damaged and 3120 houses have been partially damaged due to the earthquake in Dolakha. It was totally different from our first visit. The earthquake on 12 th May had changed things for Dolakha. We had gone for assessment of the district after the April 25 th earthquake and this time was our second and after the 12 th May and things seemed different. We could also hear stories from the locals about how people died due to the landslide while they were coming back to the village after collecting the relief materials. In our former assessment what we observed as the basic need was the CGI sheets. People had started rebuilding their houses then. But after 12 th May, food supplies also became the necessity. People who had started to go back to normal life had developed fear to even go inside their home. said Madan, team leader for the distribution of relief materials in Dolakha. The management and the distribution of the relief materials in Dolakha were done in coordination with two of our local partners (ECARDS Dolakha and HURADEC Nepal), local government agencies and the political parties. The distribution of the relief materials was done only in two VDCs i.e. Jhyakhu and Lamidada which covered 2,741 households in total. The relief material consisted of both food as well as the non-food items. People had received relief materials from many organizations but they were really impressed by the relief package and distribution of ActionAid. A women in Jhyakhu said-.i heard that there was a very good distribution in Lamidada yesterday. The quantity and quality of the goods was really good

which made the program effective and smooth.

3 It was the distribution done by ActionAid in the support of DEC the day before in Lamidada that she was talking about. The coordination between ActionAid, local partners (ECARDS Dolakha and HURADEC Nepal), local government bodies and the political parties created a synergy which made the program effective and smooth. AAN ensured the transparency and accountability mechanism by processing transparency board with all the distributed materials information. Trucks Loaded with Relief Materials for Dolakha ActionAid staffs briefing the community about the transparency board and the details of relief materials for Jhyakhu VDC

4 Management of the relief materials for distribution Community gets involved in arranging the distribution

5 ActionAid in Makwanpur District Makwanpur ranks 12 out of the 14 worst hit districts in terms of the damage created by the earthquake. ActionAid has been working in Makwanpur with a local partner, Makwanpur Mahila Samuha (MMS), for the Sakshyam Project funded by Irish Aid. MMS is a local organization in Makwanpur run by HIV infected and affected women. The relief program in Makwanpur was also done in coordination with the MMS and the district administration offices. 22 VDCs were declared affected after the earthquake. ActionAid worked in 5 out of those 22 VDCs. The 5 VDCs supported in coordination with MMS were Padampokhari, Hatiya, Basamadi, Churiyamai and Hadikhola households were declared totally damaged and were recorded as partial damage. Food didn t seem to be a problem in Makwanpur. The district administration strictly prohibited food supplies as relief. Therefore, in coordination with the MMS and the District Administration office, shelter kit (Tarpaulin and Mosquito Nets) for 400 houses were distributed in all 5 VDCs. Recently five Women Friendly Spaces (WFS) were also built in all the 5 VDCs in Makwanpur. The mobilization of youth groups, Activista and Women Rights Forum in Makwanpur added more synergy to the program. The distribution of mosquito nets in the summer season was considered very thoughtful and appreciated largely by the community. Likewise the transparency board was also appreciated by the community. The program as a whole was very well led and gave MMS very good recognition in the community. The communities realized WFS as a need and supported to make them. The WFS were established in marginalized communities which were more affected with the approval from the district administration office. The locals were very supportive providing the space and also worked hand in hand for the construction.

Staff of Makwanpur Mahila Samuha, Makwanpur

community woman Distribution of goods from

6 Staff of Makwanpur Mahila Samuha, Makwanpur explaining the transparency board to the community Women volunteer confirming the receipt of relief goods from one of the community woman Distribution of goods from the Representative of District Administration Office

7 Kathmandu Valley Initiatives Relief Program The earthquake was equally merciless in Kathmandu Valley like other districts. The earthquake caused a death of 1734 people and people were injured. After the distribution of the relief materials to different parts of Kathmandu Valley, ActionAid also extended the relief program to the slum areas in coordination with Nepal Mahila Ekata Samaj (NMES). NMES is one of the partners with ActionAid which has been working on shelter rights for slum and squatter communities. As per the need stated by NMES, ActionAid extended its support to the community. It was reported that 44 households had been completely damaged. Though some houses seemed good from the outer look, there were very deep cracks developed inside the building and the houses were too risky to stay. People in those communities worked on daily wages and they had not been able to go to the work after the earthquake because of fear. It was the major reason for ActionAid to support the communities because without income, they were short of food supplies. A total of 101 households were provided with food supplies as relief and 50 emergency shelters were distributed to the communities. We had saved some money for our children s education but we had to use that for food and supplies after the earthquake. Right now schools are closed but once they resume, we will have to struggle for money to pay the tuition fees of the children. said one of the women in the community. People living in tall and safe buildings also came to our community for shelter during the earthquake. They lived with us and we cooked food and offered them food during the crisis. said a person in the community.

Community appreciated the support and was really impressed by the management and distribution system of ActionAid including the

8 A need for support at Balkhu was placed, which wasn t a work area for ActionAid. But considering the impact of the damage and the effect of the earthquake, we also supported Balkhu in coordination with the NMES. Community appreciated the support and was really impressed by the management and distribution system of ActionAid including the transparency board. A woman posing outside her damaged house in the slum area at Sinamangal Staff from ActionAid briefing the community about the relief program and the list of relief materials

9 Interview of a lactating mother regarding safety issues and the Women Friendly Space in Balkhu Women from the slum community volunteer to unload the relief materials from the truck

Construction of the Temporary Shelters in Sindhupalchok ActionAid with the support of DFID started the construction of

The shelters are being built in coordination with our Local resource Partner Community Self Reliance Center (CSRC).

The project started with the delivery of the construction materials in the affected areas and later by constructing

10 Construction of the Temporary Shelters in Sindhupalchok ActionAid with the support of DFID started the construction of the Temporary shelters for the earthquake victims in Sindhupalchok District. The shelters are being built in coordination with our Local resource Partner Community Self Reliance Center (CSRC). Over 700 households have already been constructed in Kiul VDC and Mahankal VDC in total. The project started with the delivery of the construction materials in the affected areas and later by constructing temporary shelters. CGI sheets and working tools were delivered to Sindhupalchok and CSRC has been distributing those materials to worst affected families. Temporary Shelters built in Sindhupalchok after completion

ActionAid strengthens Accountability ActionAid took a new step to further strengthen its accountability to the community by launching a toll free number.

11 ActionAid strengthens Accountability ActionAid took a new step to further strengthen its accountability to the community by launching a toll free number. People from the community of ActionAid s working areas for the emergency can call at the number for free to register their views, lamentations, dissatisfaction or suggestions. The program is expected to improve with the registered opinions from the community. The toll free number that has been acquired is To strengthen this mechanism further AAN developed the leaflet addressing the use of toll free number and distributed to the communities that we have been engaged with.

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