Nepal Earthquake

Dear dZi Community,

It has been one of the wettest spring seasons in recorded history in southwest Colorado, where dZi Foundation’s US headquarters are located. And while Nepal is already no longer in the news, we know that the Monsoon season has begun and our partner communities are preparing for much more intense and prolonged precipitation than we have been experiencing.

We have now reached out to all the remote communities in our working areas to fully assess damage to infrastructure and to ask about their plans for recovering from the terrible earthquakes. One serious issue is rebuilding homes. Many villagers have initiated the process without any external support, with neighbors helping each other out. But most people expressed that if the Government or other organizations could teach them Earthquake safe building technology, they wouldn’t have to build weak homes like before. They want to build safe homes, but just don't know how. Because of your support, dZi Foundation will teach them how.

As you know from our last newsletter, our initial relief efforts focused on getting 3300 tarps into our working areas. With that done, we have been busy purchasing and transporting bulk quantities of roofing tin to help in the construction of Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs). Unfortunately, over 30 schools in our working areas were significantly damaged or destroyed in the April earthquakes. We feel one of the most important things dZi Foundation can do in the short term is to ensure children get back in school as quickly and safely as possible.

The Shree Chandra School in Sungdel, Khotang looks like your average rural Nepali school: old and dilapidated, but usable. Sadly, this school has suffered considerable damage from the two powerful quakes, although this is not visible straightaway. The quakes caused major cracks in all the inside walls, while bits of wall and ceiling has fallen down. This building is no longer safe to enter and cannot be used for the school. With Monsoon season already here, building TLCs is the most efficient and safe way to get children back in school. 

As the direct result of your support we have purchased and transported enough tin roofing for the immediate construction of 20 TLCs. Community members have been working long hours managing their fields while also sourcing local bamboo and constructing the TLC frames.

With TLCs up and children back in school safe and dry, the next step for community members will be to knock down the old school building and clear the lot. As soon as the Monsoon season ends, we will begin rebuilding this and other schools using earthquake resistant technology, which will help teach villagers how to rebuild their homes similarly. Notice we designed the TLC to take full panels of roofing tin so these panels can easily be used as the roofing for the newly constructed school.  

We hope this newsletter finds you all dry and safe! Know that we will continue updating you on our progress through subsequent newsletters; please consider passing them along to your family, friends and colleagues. If they are interested in signing up to receive them directly, please refer them to our website at www.dzi.org.

Thank you and Namaste,

Jim Nowak, President and Co-Founder

Mark Rikkers, Executive Director

Ben Ayers, Nepal Country Office Director

Caroline Fisher, Board Chair