- Earthquake relief works
In April and May of 2015 a
series of earthquakes struck the Himalayan region of Shindupachuk. This area while
close to the capital Kathmandu it is
still largely undeveloped due to accessibility.
In response the Himalayan
Foundation have concentrated their efforts on the village of Guncha, located
approximately 60 km north of Kathmandu
where 45 people lost their lives
and 65 more were injured. Socigraphically Guncha is home to approximately 645
families with the average size being seven, children, parents and grandparents included.
The local economy revolves around farming, however due to the terrain it is
only possible to grow enough for themselves so yearly income is low at $500 USD
per family. For economic growth family
members migrate to neighboring countries, particularly India to seek employment
at the age of eighteen years.
Educationally the children
are at a deficit, while all government and privet schools within Nepal follow a
strict curriculum the local school provides classes one to eight. The average student leaves after class five.
For future studies leading to greater employment opportunities it is necessary
to attend up to class 10 and pass the SLC (school leaving certificate)
exam. However this requires sufficient
funding, an area Himalayan Foundation hopes to expand in with the child
sponsorship program.
- Guncha - what’s happened since the earthquake with your help through the support of the Himalayan Foundation
In response to the
earthquake the immediate action undertaken was to provide tempory shelter. This
was a hazardous procedure due to the road being nonexistent closely followed b
y the start of the monsoon. Difficulty of access was a largely contributing
factor resulting in this area receiving little aid from the lager
organizations. However with your support we were able to provide the following
resources:
Himalayan Foundation Relief works Guncha 2015
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Resources Provided:
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Amount
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Cost Rs
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Tempory shelter tin
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78 bundles (8 x 9ft
sheets)
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7,000 ea
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Hot water bottles
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645 1 per family
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(Gifted by visiting
volunteer)
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Delivery 35,000 Rs
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Total 581,000 Rs ~ $5,800 USD
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The long term plan for Guncha 2016 -
Our first priority is a Better Toilets Program as an initiative of the VDP (village Development Program)
Since the April 2015 no permanent
toilets have been established in Guncha and several of the surrounding
villages. As a result a large number of
people displaced from homes face health risks for themselves, while polluting
the mountain environment used primarily as agricultural land.
The VDP typically involves
the construction of four safe public toilets per allocated funding.
Our immediate
aims are:
-
3 allocations of funding
providing 12 public toilets in Guncha
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Repairing the local school
toilet
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Reach outlying villages, Cotgow
and Lekharhe with one VDP allocation respectively.
To undertake these
projects we need sufficient funding with each allocation for construction requiring
$450 USD. Upon receiving founding construction is commenced and supervised by
the village leaders.
- We aim to extend the aid we can provide to education of building methods and construction of new more earthquake safe housing. This involves replacing the traditional stone dwellings with those that utilize tie rods corner reinforcing and better foundations. This is a large project in need of sufficient founding, with approximately $5,000 USD needed to complete a first floor dwelling.
- Putting children back in school – Himalayan Foundation aim to help provide the school needs of 25 children who have lost their homes due to earthquake damage through sponsorship.
- Volunteering with the children’s actives
- ·Child sponsorship - community poor family sponsorship.
- ·New tempory housing and Orphanage building
Tempory housing – simple
tin construction for the short term use of displaced families .
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The current orphanage building
is rented for 40,000 Rs per month excluding utilities.
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Land has been purchased
