By Anne Sophie Ranjbar | Associate Director
Today marks one year since the first of two devastating earthquakes in Nepal killed nearly 9,000 people and displaced thousands more. The story behind the earthquake recovery is one of hope and resilience, but also of exclusion and a lack of accountability.
With your generous support, we were able to set up the Mobile Citizen Helpdesk the day after the first earthquake, and have since been working hard in Nepal’s 14 most affected districts to survey communities on their needs, dispel rumors, and help victims to access relief fairly and quickly. We’ve now reached over 795 communities and more than 60,000 citizens, and the information we've collected has informed the decision-making of 50+ relief agencies.
This has created feedback loops and a more effective recovery process. For example, through our Open Mic reports, the District Agriculture Development Office learned how landslides caused by the earthquake aftershocks led to loss of crops in Gorkha, and they provided financial support to the affected farmers. Overall, we’ve seen huge improvements in the relief process over the past year--with the majority of citizens now reporting that they have the information they need to access relief, and that they think the post-earthquake support is being provided in a fair and equal way.
Our next step is to support long-term, sustainable reconstruction in post-earthquake Nepal. Our recent studies show that only 38% of citizens know how to access reconstruction support, and 81% of citizens feel their main reconstruction issues are not being addressed very much or at all.
We’re excited to announce a special opportunity for you to support our efforts to make the long-term rebuilding process more sustainable and citizen-led. Starting today, all donations to the Mobile Citizen Helpdesks (up to $1,000) will be matched 100% by GlobalGiving, while supplies last! Please consider giving again and sharing on social media why this cause is important to you. Together, we can reach our $10,000 crowdfunding goal and turn this tragedy into an opportunity for positive change.
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