Christian charity builds more than 100 earthquake-resistant houses in Nepal
Christian charity Tearfund has built more than 100 new earthquake-resistant houses in Nepal following the catastrophic earthquake that has killed 9,000 and has left millions homeless in 2015.
Tearfund, which claims to be one of the first agencies to start building permanent, earthquake-resilient shelters in Nepal following the 2015 quake, has completed 108 model houses in Palung in the Makwanpur region of Nepal.
Noting that Nepal is positioned in a zone of high seismic activity, the charity has said that residents should "prepare for the worst, hope for the best."
"It's impossible to predict when Nepal will experience another serious earthquake, but there's a lot that we can do to prepare for it and be ready," Douwe Dijkstra, Tearfund's country director in Nepal, said, as reported by Premier.
"Over the past three years, we've been working with the most vulnerable in the community to fix the damage done to homes, water supplies, toilet facilities, and livelihoods. It's as much about reducing the risk of another earthquake hitting people so hard as it is about recovery," he added.
Tearfund has worked with local authorities and has partnered with other organizations to include the design and distribution of blueprints for earthquake resistant housing, which can be replicated in other parts of Nepal.
In addition to building the model homes, Tearfund also trained 150 government engineers on how to build earthquake-resistant houses. As many as 708 masons have taken part in the hands-on training in the required practical techniques needed to build safer homes.
A total of 567 households also received grants to support the reconstruction of damaged houses with improved reinforcements.
Harka Bahadur Ghale, 23, said that he has learned the engineering concepts for safer construction after taking part in the training. He noted that all the new houses that they have built are now using the earthquake resistant construction technology.
Phurba Sange Tamang, 84, said that his son is now a lead mason in the community after taking part in the training and has since become a contractor of earthquake resilient building construction.
"Ultimately this has helped to improve our family's financial status and we are able to send my grandson to Kathmandu for his study," he said.
Christian agencies and other NGOs are continuing their efforts to assess the needs of the Nepalese as the country is still struggling to recover as it approached the third year anniversary of the massive disaster.
As of April 25, 2017, Tearfund had built 696 new homes and provided access to clean water and sanitation for nearly 4,000 people. The charity had also helped almost 3,000 regain a livelihood through agriculture and helped provide a "friendly space" for 1,300 children to protect them from human trafficking and predators.