4,000 people have been left without a home after an earthquake struck Western Nepal on 9 November. Among the affected are freed Dalit/Haliya communities LWF Nepal has been working with for years. LWF now provides shelter and other items.
A woman with her makeshift tent in Purbichouki. Photo: Bhakta Raj Upadhyay/ USSBM Doti
LWF already works in affected communities
(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation has started a humanitarian response in Doti district, Western Nepal, where a series of earthquakes caused destruction on 9 November. The Nepali government and the Red Cross have provided tents, tarpaulins and some food and they have requested LWF to provide additional support. LWF is already present on site and has been with these communities for some time as a part of its development work.
Damage in Pubichouki village, as seen the day after the main earthquake. Photo: onlinekhabar
Emergency shelter and hygiene
The earthquakes, which reached up to 6.6 on the Richter scale, killed six and injured twelve people. More than 100 houses collapsed and nearly 5,000 houses, nineteen public schools, and one health post building were partially damaged in Purbichouki and Sayal rural municipalities of Doti district. Almost half of the affected families are from the freed Haliya and Dalit communities which have been supported by LWF Nepal for years.
“People here mostly live in traditionally houses made of mud bricks and stones, which are not earthquake resistant,” explains Bijaya Bajracharya, LWF Country Director in Nepal. Images on local media show houses which have either been reduced to a pile of rubble or show long cracks in their outer walls.
A woman stands in front of her collapsed house. Photo: Bhakta Raj Upadhyay/IP-USSBM Doti
“Right now, people in Purbichouki rural municipality are sleeping outside under tarpaulins since the earthquake hit. Though we hear there is drinking water available from the taps provided by the government, people are forced to use make-shift toilets which is worsening the sanitation and hygiene of the community,” says Man Khatri, LWF Program Office in Western Nepal. “The situation is especially difficult for women and children, who in this situation are vulnerable to abuse. School supplies and school uniforms have been buried under the debris, as well as stored foods and grains, leaving people without anything to eat. Because of the remoteness of the area, support is slow to reach to the affected people.”
“Initially, we will help families to set up emergency shelter, and re-establish sanitary systems by building family latrines,” Khatri continues. “The families will receive dignity kits with soap, laundry soap, tooth brush and toothpaste, towel, water bucket and mug, and female hygiene products.” Initially, 1125 people will be supported.
Long-term support
Because winter is coming, LWF is planning to continue providing durable housing to especially vulnerable people, elderly, poor families with low income, people living with disabilities. This would support the communities in preparing for the cold winter months ahead.
In Nepal, people have experienced damaging earthquakes before. We need also to help them deal with the fear and the uncertainty.
Bijaya BAJRACHARYA, LWF Nepal Country Director
“We will also provide psychosocial support to the families,” says Bijaya Bajracharya, LWF country director in Nepal. “In Nepal, people have experienced damaging earthquakes before. We need also to help them deal with fear and uncertainty.”
LWF has been working in Nepal since 1984. We support refugees from Tibet and Bhutan, and vulnerable or disadvantaged communities, among them Dalit or former bonded laborers (Haliyas and Kamayas). After the devastating earthquake in the Kathmandu valley 2015, LWF provided emergency aid and helped communities rebuild their homes.
Our work in Nepal is supported by many partners, among them the German National Committee (GNC-LWF), Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In Western Nepal, we partner with local civil society organization Upekshit Samudaya Sashaktikaran tatha Bikash Munch (USSBM).
