Rebuilding their lives

It's more than a year now that the earthquake has hit Nepal on 25 April 2015. But Kanchhi Maharjan, 56 of Thecho in Lalitpur, is not even able to think of rebuilding her home that was damaged by the earthquake. Though they have started to prepare their daily meal in their damaged home, no one in her family have dared to spend the night there. Her house made of mud and bricks shakes even when someone walks with heavy steps. "This needs to be rebuild to have good night sleep here. This has become very weak. It shakes even you walk. We need to walk very cautiously" she said.

Kanchhi with her family are now spending their night in the 3 room temporary shelter near by her home built on a piece of land that she owns. They have managed to spend two seasons of heavy storms and some months of shivering cold at the temporary shelter. "I don´t know till how many years we do need to spend our sleepless nights", Kanchhi expressed her sorrow, "With the limited income from the salary of my children, I can´t even think of rebuilding my home. Its just enough to fulfill our daily expenses."

Since after the earthquake, the small weaving business that she had been running at her home is not in operation. The weaving machine is lying idle at the ground floor of her damaged home which used to be her prime source of income. Showing her weaving machine she said, "Managing a roof to hide ourselves was my urgent need so I invested all my saving from this weaving to build the temporary shelter. I am lucky enough to receive this support to regain my work. I hope I will be able to continue." A joint initiation of Mitrapath and Jhigu Palaa for the earthquake survivors of Kathmandu Valley has provided a total of NRs 15000 support to Kanchhi Maharjan to regain her weaving works. There are lots of families in Kathmandu valley who are yet spending their life in temporary shelters and struggling to regain their life after the devastating earthquake.