Time has passed and the earthquake is old news - except here where
the new challenges on the horizon for the thousands of displaced are
dealing with the impending monsoon.
After being away for two weeks, and continuing to receive donations while I was gone, the first order of the day up my return was to assess and establish where we (my little band of spontaneous relief workers) were with the various projects. I feel a massive responsibility to those who have entrusted me with their money to make sure it goes to valid and valuable efforts, however small they might be in the grand scheme of things.
We gathered for a meeting around my kitchen table to discuss what had been going on in my absence and what the plan going forward should be. A sizeable sum had come through while I was gone from a few different sources, so we again have money to put to good use.
We have now raised over $56,000.
You can look at previous posts to see how we initially distributed funds that were being sent to us. There were various missions to some of the worst hit districts, usually people we knew going to their villages with support for their own communities.
To Da Loo and Helter Shelter are projects that started during the aftermath of the quake. There was a huge need for immediate toilets in areas where makeshift refugee camps had sprung up - to stave of the risk of disease due to lack of sanitation. And so groups of volunteers (in the early days there were close to 100) set about digging holes around the valley for people to shit in - and To Da Loo was born.
Helter Shelter was initially just a joke name since we decided to channel resources that were being directed our way into simply buying and distributing tarps to those in need. It seemed like a simple way of helping without doing work that conflicted with anyone else's projects.
All of this is in conjunction with Prakriti Ko Ghar (PKG) an NGO here in Kathmandu run by Kishor that works towards sustainable living and building. Their ongoing project is an orphanage and library (still under construction) that is currently being used to house people displaced from the earthquake. Both To Da Loo and Helter Shelter are now being run under the umbrella of PKG.
SO WHAT NOW?
To Da Loo lives on. We have designed long lasting steel plates to use for the toilets. Support for the project has been tremendous and production is now underway for 100 steel toilet plates. Another 100 will be ordered after this batch has been approved and utilised. The vision is to continue building toilets post emergency, in rural areas in need, in a longer term sustainable way.
Helter Shelter has a remaining batch of tarps (500) that were ordered by some monks who then pulled out without paying! So we are subsidizing the price of them and offering them for sale at Rs 900 (original cost is Rs 1500). Please check the fb page for contact details if you need tarps.
Meanwhile, we are also looking into different shelter building options - short and long term. We are very excited about earthbag technology, a relatively new and innovative way of building structures using local materials, that are durable through earthquakes. However, these need more time to build than is available before monsoon, so plans are underway for longer term projects using that technology later in the year. In the interim, shorter term structures built using bamboo and local materials along with corrugated galvanised iron (GI) sheets for roofs are being built. These sheets can then be used down the line for more permanent structures. These buildings only need a few days to be built so will house people through monsoon.
Most of these building projects area actually being executed by various independent groups or organisations who have their own specific goals. Helter Shelter's role has become one of connecting people, resources, materials and technology to aid people's efforts.
Bode Resettlement Camp is currently the home of more than 1000 people from the district of Sindhupalchok. Look at the previous blog post below to find out more.
And that is it for now. Monsoon is on our tails and everyone is doing what they can to prepare.
The need is so great it is almost incomprehensible. The government is going around camps and the worst hit areas doing assessments - how badly in need are people? Red, yellow or green. And giving out cash to help in the rebuilding process. But it isn't enough - I know one person who was given Rs 15000 (about $150) to rebuild his house.
Big aid agencies like Red Cross and Unicef have their work cut out for them as they undertake big rebuilding and regeneration projects. And the smaller organisation or groups of individuals that have banded together (ourselves included) continue with their more personal projects to help and prepare for the coming months.
That all said, there is a feeling of hope amongst the desperation of the situation here. This is a resilient nation and as the slogans say - Nepal will rise.
After being away for two weeks, and continuing to receive donations while I was gone, the first order of the day up my return was to assess and establish where we (my little band of spontaneous relief workers) were with the various projects. I feel a massive responsibility to those who have entrusted me with their money to make sure it goes to valid and valuable efforts, however small they might be in the grand scheme of things.
We gathered for a meeting around my kitchen table to discuss what had been going on in my absence and what the plan going forward should be. A sizeable sum had come through while I was gone from a few different sources, so we again have money to put to good use.
We have now raised over $56,000.
You can look at previous posts to see how we initially distributed funds that were being sent to us. There were various missions to some of the worst hit districts, usually people we knew going to their villages with support for their own communities.
~
To Da Loo and Helter Shelter are projects that started during the aftermath of the quake. There was a huge need for immediate toilets in areas where makeshift refugee camps had sprung up - to stave of the risk of disease due to lack of sanitation. And so groups of volunteers (in the early days there were close to 100) set about digging holes around the valley for people to shit in - and To Da Loo was born.
Helter Shelter was initially just a joke name since we decided to channel resources that were being directed our way into simply buying and distributing tarps to those in need. It seemed like a simple way of helping without doing work that conflicted with anyone else's projects.
All of this is in conjunction with Prakriti Ko Ghar (PKG) an NGO here in Kathmandu run by Kishor that works towards sustainable living and building. Their ongoing project is an orphanage and library (still under construction) that is currently being used to house people displaced from the earthquake. Both To Da Loo and Helter Shelter are now being run under the umbrella of PKG.
SO WHAT NOW?
To Da Loo lives on. We have designed long lasting steel plates to use for the toilets. Support for the project has been tremendous and production is now underway for 100 steel toilet plates. Another 100 will be ordered after this batch has been approved and utilised. The vision is to continue building toilets post emergency, in rural areas in need, in a longer term sustainable way.
Helter Shelter has a remaining batch of tarps (500) that were ordered by some monks who then pulled out without paying! So we are subsidizing the price of them and offering them for sale at Rs 900 (original cost is Rs 1500). Please check the fb page for contact details if you need tarps.
Meanwhile, we are also looking into different shelter building options - short and long term. We are very excited about earthbag technology, a relatively new and innovative way of building structures using local materials, that are durable through earthquakes. However, these need more time to build than is available before monsoon, so plans are underway for longer term projects using that technology later in the year. In the interim, shorter term structures built using bamboo and local materials along with corrugated galvanised iron (GI) sheets for roofs are being built. These sheets can then be used down the line for more permanent structures. These buildings only need a few days to be built so will house people through monsoon.
Most of these building projects area actually being executed by various independent groups or organisations who have their own specific goals. Helter Shelter's role has become one of connecting people, resources, materials and technology to aid people's efforts.
Bode Resettlement Camp is currently the home of more than 1000 people from the district of Sindhupalchok. Look at the previous blog post below to find out more.
~
And that is it for now. Monsoon is on our tails and everyone is doing what they can to prepare.
The need is so great it is almost incomprehensible. The government is going around camps and the worst hit areas doing assessments - how badly in need are people? Red, yellow or green. And giving out cash to help in the rebuilding process. But it isn't enough - I know one person who was given Rs 15000 (about $150) to rebuild his house.
Big aid agencies like Red Cross and Unicef have their work cut out for them as they undertake big rebuilding and regeneration projects. And the smaller organisation or groups of individuals that have banded together (ourselves included) continue with their more personal projects to help and prepare for the coming months.
That all said, there is a feeling of hope amongst the desperation of the situation here. This is a resilient nation and as the slogans say - Nepal will rise.
