AHAH Monthly Program Update - Nepal (March 2022)

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE RELIEF UPDATE MARCH 2022

TOTAL IMPACT 3,978

LAUR A/DEL VOLUNTEERS 86,000+ VOLUNTEER DAYS TA2,467 VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEERS LIVES IMPACTED

2,467

715 5,818 JOBS COMPLETED DAYS

STUDENTS BACK TO SCHOOL

13,64

SCHOOL 24 IN PROGRESS SCHOOLS COMPLETED

Current Activities We are delighted to announce our latest Nepal Earthquake Relief Program began in February 2022, rebuilding Dudhauli Health Post in the Sindhuli district. The goal of the project is to both increase the resilience of the Health Post to operate during challenging times, such as with COVID-19, and provide infrastructure to expand expertise and services to provide critical support to the 40,000 people in the surrounding area.

The first phase of the project is focused on constructing the two new buildings for the Health Post. Work on the first building has been completed upto plinth level after a successful plinth beam pour. Work on the second building is progressing well too, where the formwork for the tie beam pour has been removed. We are now ready to start rebar tying and bricklaying on the second building.

Female Mason Training The Female Mason Training Program trains Nepali women in earthquake resilient construction skills as a way to improve their economic situation and provide social and economic empowerment, while playing an integral role in rebuilding a more resilient Nepal.

We are delighted to have finalized the process of hiring six local female mason trainees in Dudhauli to embark on our female mason training program. Our experienced team conducted interviews with seven applicants in the last month. In this recruitment process, we carefully select women who are the sole wage earners for their households and need job-skills training the most.

Six successful candidates were selected at the beginning of March and they will begin their training by joining the team on site in the second week of March. Taught by professional Nepali masons and our Nepali Site Supervisors in both theoretical and practical skills, the trainees will initially be focused on the construction of the septic tank.

Photos: (Top) Our new base in Dudhauli; (Left) Volunteers preparing for the plinth beam pour

Disaster Profile On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal near the capital city of Kathmandu; the worst of its kind in more than 80 years. More than 9,000 people lost their lives, a further 23,000 were injured and there was major destruction of homes and infrastructure. The earthquake resulted in more than 5,000 schools being damaged or completely destroyed. On May 12, 2015, a second 7.3 earthquake struck the country, causing further devastation and loss of lives.

The earthquakes not only devastated homes and schools but severely damaged or destroyed more than 90% of healthcare facilities in disaster-affected districts.

Our Work Thanks to the crucial support of our partners, donors, local community and volunteers from around the world, we have been running impactful programs in Nepal since 2015. We have completed 24 schools to date, serving nearly 6,000 students. We have also implemented Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) facilities, including toilets and water filtration systems at our schools.

Last month we returned to Nepal to build Dudhauli Health Post, aiming to increase resilience to events like COVID-19 and provide much needed additional medical services to local communities.

Our work involves rebuilding the two existing buildings to expand the capacity of the health post. In addition to these two buildings we will also construct a visitors toilet block, install water filtration, run community-led projects, facilitate healthcare trainings through our partner, NATAN, and complete landscaping works at the health post.

Photos: (Top) Rebar station on site; (middle) Formwork removed from the tie beam; (bottom) Volunteers and local masons moving tied rebar columns

About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure.

Our Partners in Nepal

We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the eighth year in a row. This year only six percent of rated nonprofits received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency.

info@allhandsandhearts.org