Photo Essay: LWF Supports Rural Communities
Lalitpur district has been one of the most affected by 7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April 2015. Many villages have suffered severe damage. LWF Nepal has carried out development work with the villages in remote rural areas since 2011, and is now supporting the communities in responding to the disaster.
As the rainy season approaches, the most urgent need is shelter, followed by food. Many people’s livelihoods have been destroyed together with their homes. LWF development work, however, has also provided people with good coping mechanisms. People in Nepal support each other in this time of need, but they will not be able to handle this unprecedented emergency without help.
5 May 2015
Photos: LWF/C. Kästner
Dhusel village as seen from a mountain path. From afar one can only guess the full extent of the destruction the village where only 38 of the 338 houses are still standing
As you approach Dhusel village, the destruction is all too visible. Four people died when their houses collapsed. It was a lucky coincidence that the earthquake occurred at a time when most people were outside working in the field.
Maili Pakhrin in front of what remains of her house. “I was preparing lunch when the kitchen started to sink,” she says. “Everything I own was in that house.”
A greenhouse in Dhusel. Many villages have used plastic sheets from greenhouses as temporary shelter after their houses collapsed.
Rardlika Sanggel Mahat and her husband search for belongings in the ruins of their house in Dhusel. The family was lucky to save the buffalo which constitutes their livelihood.
People in the village are still trying to get on with their life as best as they can. This woman is transporting fodder for her buffalo the traditional way.
Manbahadur Pakhrin helps his brother construct shelter. “We are all suffering, so I am going to help as much as I can,” he says.
Members of the Kathmandu “Everest Motorbike Club” have come to help the people in the remote Lalitpur villages to build toilets. “We wanted to help, so we organized ourselves on Facebook,” they say.
LWF Staff discuss with local women what kind of help the community needs now. Most of the people name shelter as most urgent, followed by sanitation and food.
LWF staff are distributing blankets to the community. Most people sleep under makeshift shelters made of poles and tarpaulins.
Children and elderly are most vulnerable to contracting diseases and are most affected by the cold, as sheets and tarpaulins provide little shelter against the cold and the rain. The LWF is distributing blankets to help people cope with the current situation.
Chusel street in Dhusel is completely destroyed. LWF staff assessed the destruction and estimate that it will take more than a year to rebuild everything that was destroyed in the earthquake.
