Relief and Rebuilding from Nepal Earthquake

It was all going so well. We were getting everyone food, temporary shelter, cash if needed and everyone was starting to plan the future. The tremors had finally stopped and the nervousness that had hung in the air for nearly two weeks was subsiding. Then, it came again. Like a hungry monster back to finish it’s meal the second quake stunned all of us. There was very little property damage here in the villages as there wasn’t much left standing from the first quake to knock down. What was knocked down this time were peoples spirits. A pall hangs over the village and no one can quite summon the energy to get up and begin again, yet again.

At Her Farm we are doing our best to help others cope with the trauma of a huge second quake. For the children we’ve held grography classes and talked about what causes earthquakes. For older youth I’ve given them some very basic lessons in using a video camera and sent them out to interview others in the village, to get them to express what’s inside them. We started reconstruction on the toilet facilities at the school as well in the hope that it may now open the end of May, or that’s the new schedule.

It all feels inadequate, it’s going to take more time this time around. The first quake was a horrible shock, the weeks of ongoing tremors kept that reality alive in everyone’s mind, but then for a while, a very short while, it was calm.