NSP Projects Post Earthquake

No one can imagine what life must be like in Nepal after the devastating earthquake in April.  The Kabre district, where we have done most our work was one of the areas that was most severely affected by the quake.  Over 90% of our schools have been damaged or destroyed. Our people on the ground in Nepal were able to reach the villages quickly and assess the damage so that we could respond to some of their immediate needs and create a longer term plan for rebuilding. One of the advantages of NSP is that we are not encumbered by administrative infrastructure so that we can respond quickly and effectively. In a very short time we had acquired over 1000 tarps and other emergency supplies and had them distributed to the most needy in the villages from our storage location in Banepa. Rakam, Babulal, Surag (members of the NSP Board in Nepal) and many others worked tirelessly to get the job done, even though they were dealing with their own personal situations as a result of the earthquake. The monsoons were about to begin, so it was important to provide some temporary shelter to those whose homes were uninhabitable. Our team was able to conduct an assessment to determine who was in the most need and NSP Canada was able to provide financial aid to 30 families who had suffered extreme damages to their homes. Now, we have shifted our efforts away from emergency response to long-term prevention and sustainability. We are in the process of designing an earthquake resistant school to replace our destroyed structures. We hope to create a dual purpose building that can not only act as  a school but also as an emergency shelter in times of need.  We expect to have a completed design to review when we travel to Nepal this November. As soon as an estimated cost of this building is available we will share it with you.

NSP executive director, Fran Lloyd, leaves for Nepal on Oct. 25 and will be joined by 3 of NSP Canada’s board members and 2 other interested NSP supporters.  On our 7 day trek through the villages we will be able to assess the situation first hand so that we are better able to move forward. We would like to thank everyone who has donated to NSP and hope that you will continue to support us through these difficult challenges. Over the next 5 years we will need to raise 2.5 million dollars. Your ongoing participation will allow us to continue to help the people of Nepal. At no time has it been more important than now!