Relief efforts

Immediately after the earthquake devastated large parts of Nepal, the relief effort began. International and local organizations did what they could to save victims trapped underneath the rubble, and provided tents and temporary shelter to help people through those first few weeks.

Kamla Bajracharya: "My sister and her family stayed in one of the bigger makeshift camps in a large field in the middle of Kathmandu, too afraid to go back to their damaged house. But with so many people close together and insufficient facilities, diseases spread quickly. My niece became ill and my sister decided to leave the camp and go back to their home. She told me "if another earthquake hits, the house may collapse and I will die. But if I stay in this camp my children will get sick".

Houses damaged in the earthquake

In the meantime, the country experienced hundreds of aftershocks. Most of these did not do much damage, but obviously the people of Nepal had to live in a continuing state of fear. But on the 12th of May a major aftershock, with 7.3 almost as strong as the initial shock, hit the eastern part of the country. Several hundred people lost their lives and thousands of houses were destroyed in that aftershock.

Kamla Bajracharya: "Back in Canada I felt helpless. I started collecting donations from friends and relatives, and contacted a local non-profit organization in Nepal that works with small communities – Lumanti. With technical assistance from Lumanti and the donations of so many generous friends and relatives, we were able to build ten temporary shelters for people in the village of Panga who lost their houses." These shelters are made of corrugated iron – not glamorous and definitely not a permanent solution, but better than tents and tarps, and they would protect these families during the winter that was coming.