Rising from the ruins: Christian Aid helps Nepal rebuild after earthquake devastation

IT is hard to imagine a more beautiful place than Jiri. Tucked away in a fold of the Himalayan foothills, this lush green valley feels like a lost garden of Eden.

Crops grow on terraces cut like hundreds of narrow steps into the mountainsides, the air is fresh and cool, and everywhere children run laughing among goats and chickens.

But appearances can be deceptive.

A year ago, this spot, nicknamed the Switzerland of Nepal, was devastated by two powerful earthquakes – and a year on, its people are still suffering.

The April 25, 2015, Nepal mega earthquake was the worst natural disaster to hit the country for more than 80 years.

More than 23,000 were injured in the quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. For one of the poorest countries on Earth, the impact was devastating.

The shock waves were felt hundreds of miles from the epicentre in Gorkha, North West of Kathmandu. The ancient art of the capital was flattened – temples which have stood for many hundreds of years collapsing along with apartment blocks and houses, burying their inhabitants.

Roads buckled, bridges snapped and the earth was torn apart. Hillsides shook, sending tons of mud and rock on to roads and villages. In the mountains, villages and trekking and climbing bases, such as Everest base camp, were struck by deadly avalanches.

The world watched on in horror, but Nepal’s nightmare was only beginning. Aftershocks continued to shake the country – prompting widespread panic and causing weakened buildings to collapse. Then, on May 12, a second earthquake struck. With a magnitude of 7.3, and an epicentre in Dolakha, north east of Kathmandu and close to the Tibetan border, it killed another 200 people – most of them impoverished villagers.

Jiri bore the full force, with practically every building destroyed or left uninhabitable. The villagers, already among the poorest people on Earth, were left with nothing – many even losing their livestock.

“There was a loud ‘boom, boom, boom!’ and the ground began shaking,” says Talima Jirel, describing the moment the second earthquake hit. “It sounded like a drum coming from the earth.

“I was shocked and thought I was going to die. I heard people crying ‘help me, help me!’.”

Widow Talima Jirel, 70, in Jiri

“I felt sad because my house was damaged and I had no idea what to do.”

The 70-year-old widow had already seen her house damaged by the April 25 quake, and says she ran for her life. “I just thought about going to open ground,” she says. “We were lucky it happened during the day, when most people were already at work in the fields.”

Among the first on the scene was the charity Christian Aid, working with a coalition of church and faith-based organisations called the ACT Alliance, providing emergency aid and long term recovery. It is the second largest alliance to respond to the quake after the United Nations.

From its base in Kathmandu, Christian Aid has co-ordinated the distribution of aid to some of the worst affected victims. And, a year on from the disaster, the benefits are already being felt.

Staff at the charity’s regional office in Oxford were directly involved in the effort, and, as they prepare for next week’s Christian Aid Week, are continuing to raise funds for the ongoing recovery.

I travelled to the disaster area with a Christian Aid team to see how, one year on, work is progressing.

“We acted very quickly after the first earthquake, to get emergency aid to those who most needed it,” says aid worker and translator Amit Chakarwarty. “Now we are helping people rebuild – giving safe shelter to those with no homes and helping people get back on their feet.”

The charity has already reached 450,000 people in the worst-affected areas: Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa, Gorkha, Dhading, Dolakha, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur with Shelter, water and hygiene, and livelihood support.

The most immediate need, says Amit, is for shelter, and Christian Aid was quick off the mark, distributing 18,936 tarpaulins and handing out more than 3,006 tool kits to enable people to build their own emergency shelters, protecting them from the monsoon and the tough winter.

Cash grants have also been handed out to help people rebuild their livelihoods and revitalise local trade.

Talima, who has lived in Jiri for 50 years, was among the beneficiaries. She was moved to a transitional shelter and received a cash grant from Christian Aid, spending it on two goats.

“I still feel sad,” she says, “But this aid has really helped. I don’t know what I’d have done without it.

“Now I can make some money by rearing goats. I am very happy.”

Now the focus has shifted to helping people build more substantial shelters with corrugated galvanised iron sheets.

More than 5,800 of these transitional shelters, have been built – their metallic roofs shimmering in the fierce sun, in the shadow of the snow-capped Himalayas. Technical instruction is also being given on earthquake-proofing, affording protection from any big future quake – something feared by everyone I met.

“I don’t know what causes these earthquakes,” says Talima, “But we are very grateful for the help we have received. Thank you!”

To help change the lives of earthquake-affected families in Nepal, by donating online at caweek.org, calling 08080 006 006 or texting ‘SAFE’ to 70040 to give £5.