On 7^th May 2015, I went to Lelealong with 4 official staffs of Water-Aid and 1 member of UEMS for post disaster assessment.Ward 6 consisted of two villages named Pahade-Thapaguan and Aaeselu-Bari with 194 house-holds. Here most of the houses are damaged due to earth-quake. According to survey from UEMS,125 houses are completely destroyed, 58 houses are partially damaged and 11 houses liveable. Damage is mostly the physical structure and some cattle including 8 dead and 23 injured.

Disaster has mainly affected food, shelter and WASH sector. Rotary club of New-Road city, Bal-Kunja School, Kathmandu Don-Basco School/College have been assisting in relief activities including Chinese and Korean team and people themselves. Most of the team are concerned forthe distribution of foods like rice, dal, noodles, biscuit etc. Shelter has been more important issues to people. Red-cross has helped them by donating 10 tents for house-hold.

UEMS has been working on WASH sector in Lelefrom 1 year so people are much aware about water purification techniques using piyush or chlorine tablets, boiling and filtering. For water purification,Ananda-Ban Hospital has donated 5bucket filters which in kept on public taps of ward. There are 13 public water taps on Pahade-Thapaguan. The volunteers tested coliform using PA vial and purification was done.Temporary toilets were made by research team, youth from Patan on their own effort and people have also been using their previous toilets. Since Ward 6 is an ODF zone so people seems aware not to defecate outside or freely in the field.

RatnaKumariThapa, 75 years old women, her house was destroyed during earthquake and was carrying water on hands. She has been living with her son and daughter in law in rented house now. Water comes for only 1-2 hrs a day which she uses after boiling and filtering for drinking purpose. She says water seemed turbid during earthquake but not now, as realizing the importance of water for all purpose. Her generous behaviour amazed me as her house was completely destroyed but she still offers food for us in her rented house.

My second interviewee was was Raj Kumar Nagarkoti, 37 years old. He didn’t have issues regarding water despite of its turbidity but he was concerned about shelter.Though health doesn’t seem to be an issue but he is conscious about people suffering from cholera.

JyotiNagarkoti, a social mobilizer of UEMSand a young girl of 23 years who is master level student of rural development are actively working as volunteers. They have been working on awareness and WASH project.She shares her experience about earthquake showing her demolished house. She was happy as she was not injured but she was concerned about her injured mother.Building takes a long time but it won’t take a second to collapse, says JyotiNagarkoti.

A small baby boy of 6 month years old named ShivarajNagarkoti was injured during an earthquake when his mother left he sleeping and headed towards field. During an event house collapsed but baby was found beneath 10 feet. He seemed unconscious and his face was swelled. He survived as he was immediately taken to the hospital but is in trauma. His mother is worried about the health problem that may occur later.

A 20 years old volunteer of UEMS, SayaNagarkoti is 20 years old. She also lost her house during an earthquake. She shares her experience about the sanitation practise during menstrual cycle during earthquake and the problem she faced. Previously, she had learned to make re-useable sanitary pad by the help of UEMS and she had kept some of them prepared. Some-how she managed to keep her things out from the destructed house. During menstrual cycle in an earth-quake she used those pads but the great problem she faced was to change the pads and to wash and dry those as there no access of proper toilets. And staining due to heavy flow and being in a queue with boys for toilet during the stomach ache was the greatest problem of all she said. Our traditional thinking and taboos on menstrual cycle has also made more difficult for women during the hard time. But due to focal group discussions in village people are more convinced than before and the things are changing little bit.

About 30-35 house-hold who lost their house are living on tent are using temporary toilet which is not child-friendly being difficult due to wide squat. So, children’s are taken to nearby toilets. Most of the people are concerned about constructing their own house as most of them are living in tent recently but rain, mosquito and fear of wild animals (tiger, leopard, and wolf) at night seems major problems. Further pregnant women are going through big physical and mental trauma and are not getting nutritious foods and fruits too. The relief for foods has been provided there but sanitary pads and medical aids should be provided along. Things are slowly getting back to normal as people are going for field works and busy doing their daily work but mental trauma in people still exist. Construction of house may take time for them to re-build it again but everyone has hope for things to get better soon. 

Disaster has mainly affected food, shelter and WASH sector. Rotary club of New-Road city, Bal-Kunja School, Kathmandu Don-Basco School/College have been assisting in relief activities including Chinese and Korean team and people themselves. Most of the team are concerned forthe distribution of foods like rice, dal, noodles, biscuit etc. Shelter has been more important issues to people. Red-cross has helped them by donating 10 tents for house-hold.

UEMS has been working on WASH sector in Lelefrom 1 year so people are much aware about water purification techniques using piyush or chlorine tablets, boiling and filtering. For water purification,Ananda-Ban Hospital has donated 5bucket filters which in kept on public taps of ward. There are 13 public water taps on Pahade-Thapaguan. The volunteers tested coliform using PA vial and purification was done.Temporary toilets were made by research team, youth from Patan on their own effort and people have also been using their previous toilets. Since Ward 6 is an ODF zone so people seems aware not to defecate outside or freely in the field.

RatnaKumariThapa, 75 years old women, her house was destroyed during earthquake and was carrying water on hands. She has been living with her son and daughter in law in rented house now. Water comes for only 1-2 hrs a day which she uses after boiling and filtering for drinking purpose. She says water seemed turbid during earthquake but not now, as realizing the importance of water for all purpose. Her generous behaviour amazed me as her house was completely destroyed but she still offers food for us in her rented house.

My second interviewee was was Raj Kumar Nagarkoti, 37 years old. He didn’t have issues regarding water despite of its turbidity but he was concerned about shelter.Though health doesn’t seem to be an issue but he is conscious about people suffering from cholera.

JyotiNagarkoti, a social mobilizer of UEMSand a young girl of 23 years who is master level student of rural development are actively working as volunteers. They have been working on awareness and WASH project.She shares her experience about earthquake showing her demolished house. She was happy as she was not injured but she was concerned about her injured mother.Building takes a long time but it won’t take a second to collapse, says JyotiNagarkoti.

A small baby boy of 6 month years old named ShivarajNagarkoti was injured during an earthquake when his mother left he sleeping and headed towards field. During an event house collapsed but baby was found beneath 10 feet. He seemed unconscious and his face was swelled. He survived as he was immediately taken to the hospital but is in trauma. His mother is worried about the health problem that may occur later.

A 20 years old volunteer of UEMS, SayaNagarkoti is 20 years old. She also lost her house during an earthquake. She shares her experience about the sanitation practise during menstrual cycle during earthquake and the problem she faced. Previously, she had learned to make re-useable sanitary pad by the help of UEMS and she had kept some of them prepared. Some-how she managed to keep her things out from the destructed house. During menstrual cycle in an earth-quake she used those pads but the great problem she faced was to change the pads and to wash and dry those as there no access of proper toilets. And staining due to heavy flow and being in a queue with boys for toilet during the stomach ache was the greatest problem of all she said. Our traditional thinking and taboos on menstrual cycle has also made more difficult for women during the hard time. But due to focal group discussions in village people are more convinced than before and the things are changing little bit.

About 30-35 house-hold who lost their house are living on tent are using temporary toilet which is not child-friendly being difficult due to wide squat. So, children’s are taken to nearby toilets. Most of the people are concerned about constructing their own house as most of them are living in tent recently but rain, mosquito and fear of wild animals (tiger, leopard, and wolf) at night seems major problems. Further pregnant women are going through big physical and mental trauma and are not getting nutritious foods and fruits too. The relief for foods has been provided there but sanitary pads and medical aids should be provided along. Things are slowly getting back to normal as people are going for field works and busy doing their daily work but mental trauma in people still exist. Construction of house may take time for them to re-build it again but everyone has hope for things to get better soon. 

Pratistha Sharma