Empower Nepal to Rebuild Safer Houses and Schools

After the 2015 April 25^th and May 12^th earthquakes 6,000 schools in Nepal were damaged or destroyed. This is 47,000 classrooms no longer able to function, many of which are located in rural areas. Sindhupalchok District was one of the most affected by the earthquake and presents numerous school structures completely demolished. In the immediate aftermath many organizations built Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs) to meet with the emergency needs. Generally, some TLCs were provided per school but were not able to cover the full demand of affected students. Also, with the past monsoon and winter seasons many of these structures are no longer suitable learning environments.

After field visits to visual assess schools and the possible impact of a retrofit program, Build Change, with your support, selected a school for a pilot program. Jana Jyoti Lower Secondary School welcomes 150 students between the ages of five and thirteen. Before the earthquake it had eight classrooms in three different buildings, one science lab, one administration office, one computer lab, and a kindergarten.

During the earthquake, two of the classroom buildings were destroyed, together with the administration building. Currently two bamboo TLCs have been set up that allow the functioning of four classrooms. The rest of the classes happen under tents or under the remaining trusses, but with no walls. Two of the structures that were demolished still have structurally good trusses. Build Change elected to infill those structures to return them to their normal function, but earthquake resistant!

 Since beginning construction in May much progress has been completed. The walls have been reconstructed and secured to the foundation and light weight wooden panels have been attached in place of the heavy block walls that completely collapsed during the earthquake. Once the school is completed teachers and students will be safe from the harsh winter elements and the threat of future earthquakes. Build Change is looking forward to using the lessons learned, with your help, during this pillot to retrofit an additonal six schools throughout Nepal ensuring that children and teacers have safe spaces to learn.

“All this destruction is due to the fact that houses were made out of mud, actual mud, that you can breakdown with your own hands. To help Nepali homeowners rebuild their homes Build Change is introducing earthquake resistant construction methodologies using cement…”

-Noll Tufani, Country Director

Led by Nepalis, Driven by Local Culture

Build Change has grown a structural engineering team who has vast experience and knowledge of building types and techniques in Nepal.  Our safe design guidelines for cement and stone, cement and brick, as well as, cement and hollow block housing construction are under review by the Government of Nepal. The guidelines will empower Nepali homeowners and masons to build back safer.

Building Local Capacity

To make sure that an adequate supply of skilled builders is available in rural areas Build Change created a training team. To date we have trained 182 local builders in earthquake resistant construction techniques. Build Change subscribes to a competency-based training program, where local builders are identified, their skill sets are measured, and they receive both practical and on-the-job training to increase their understanding of and capacity to build earthquake resistant houses.

Supporting the Government of Nepal

Build Change supports the Government of Nepal by active participation on technical advisory committees and by manning the technical information desk of the 1^st enrollment center in Kavrepalanchok District. So far, we have reached over 500 homeowners with technical advice and promotion of safe construction.  Once reconstruction subsidy disbursement begins, homeowners will have access to the technical resources required to build a safe house through the enrollment center and Build Change’s technical resources. 

Putting Children’s Safety First

Build Change has received government authorization to begin retrofitting a school in Sindhupalchok District.  Once completed, over 160 children, aged five to thirteen will be able to attend classes in an earthquake safe building instead of the inadequate shelter of temporary learning spaces. 

Building Awareness through Posters and Street Theatre

Everyone can build a disaster-resistant house.  The first step is to believe it can be done.  We have reached over 4,000 community residents with Build Back Safe messages through Community Theatre, including 1,384 women, 1,597 children, and 1,064 men. 

Salvaging Materials and Reducing Costs

Some materials from collapsed buildings can be reused, reducing costs and impacts on the environment.  See our Flyer on safe demolition and materials reuse, which has been distributed to over 32,000 homeowners in highly affected areas. 

The Way Forward

The destruction of the April 25^th and May 5^th 2015 earthquakes in Nepal was massive and, sadly, avoidable.

Almost 9,000 people lost their lives and tens of thousands were injured.

Over 500,000 houses were destroyed and another 250,000 badly damaged.

Over 6,000 schools were destroyed or damaged leaving 1.4 million affected.

Nearly three million people were displaced.

Thanks to your generous support, Build Change had boots on the ground days after the first earthquake, and has built a permanent program in Nepal with over 30 team members.  Our goal is to continue to provide technical assistance to earthquake affected families and change Nepali construction practices permanently.

One year later, while much has been accomplished, so much more needs to be done. Build Change promotes homeowner-driven reconstruction and the Government of Nepal has put such a system into place; we believe reconstruction is on the right track.  We need your continued support to:

-          Provide technical assistance to over 700,000 Nepali families who are about to start rebuilding or retrofitting their homes,

-          Train the hundreds of builders needed for safe reconstruction,

-          Identify and reconstruct or retrofit schools,

-          Continue Build Back Safe awareness activities,

-          Support the Government of Nepal’s long term institutional capacity to prevent and respond to natural disasters.

Nepal will remain a seismically active country. Natural hazards are not preventable – natural disasters are. Help us empower Nepal to build back safer and safe lives. 

Links:

• Nepal: One Year Later