“I saw the walls crack around me as I crouched in the centre of the swaying room,” Australian student Johanne Donovan recalls.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake had just struck Nepal, where she studies and teaches.
“Outside I heard women screaming and saw bodies crushed underneath the rubble of a fallen wall – I will never forget their faces,” said Ms Donovan, who currently lives in one of the many Tibetan Buddhist monasteries scattered in the Nepalese hills.
“I thought all of Kathmandu had fallen.”
Kathmandu had indeed fallen. The devastation could have been worse: the earthquake had been mainly concentrated on the Lamjung District, just 80km northwest of the populous capital Kathmandu. Even so, it killed almost 9000 people and injured more than 22,000. Hundreds of thousands of homeless civilians were forced into tented camps across the capital.
Landslides had flattened entire villages. The quake even triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, barely 200km away, killing 21 people on a tourist trek. Tremors were felt in neighbouring countries with deaths reported in India, China and Bangladesh. It was the worst natural disaster to strike the region in over 80 years.
Ms Donovan quickly notified loved ones in Australia by marking herself “safe” on the official Facebook Nepal Earthquake, April 25 site.
One year on, a palpable fear consumes the millions who lost their homes and loved ones. The 447 aftershocks felt throughout the impoverished nation, continue to spark fears of additional landslides and further building collapses, a further reminder of the instability of their future livelihoods.
Ms Donovan is in the process of establishing an orphanage for children affected by the earthquake with the help of the local community and the Richen Palri Monastary where she works.
“It is amazing how people just work together, helping each other get by. There is a real sense of community that crosses cultural and class boundaries,” she said.
“That is not to say that it is not much easier for those with money to rebuild their lives, but in the aftermath there is still a real equalizing in our shared fears and homelessness.”
Attempts to rebuild Nepal have been obstructed by heavy monsoon rains, compounding political issues, a crippling fuel shortage and a lack of government support.
Locke Chetry who lives in the Kavre District – an area devastated by landslides, has struggled to provide security for his family.
“We have seen no government help.” Mr Chetry said.
“My home and crops… destroyed. My children’s school fell to the ground. The government doesn’t care.”
Fortunately for Mr Chetry and his family, local non-profit organisations such as The Green Lion Nepal have worked tirelessly to provide families with supplies and support to rebuild their lives. The Green Lion Nepal has assisted by sending international volunteers to reconstruct mud-brick homes of hundreds of families in the most inaccessible regions of Nepal.
“My family has a warm place to sleep now and our crops are just starting to grow again.”
Re-establishing educational facilities for children has also been a priority for the non-profit organisation.
Project director, Rajesh Shrestha, is overwhelmed by the number of volunteers wanting to help from around the globe.
“The school provided by volunteers for Mr Locke’s community was our first success.” Mr Swarmi said.
“They lost 58 children of 124 who attended the Devitar Secondary School. We were very proud to be able to help.”
Since then, The Green Lion Nepal has rebuilt 12 schools in regional areas of the Kathmandu Valley, with thousands of children resuming much needed education.
UNICEF and the Australian Red Cross are among numerous aid organisations instrumental in distributing food, water, tents, sanitation kits, mosquito nets and monetary donations to vulnerable families for building supplies throughout devastated regions.
Globally, more than $4 billion in financial aid has poured into Nepal from 56 countries since April 2015. Australia has contributed (USD) $15.8 million, Germany $68 million, the United Kingdom – $130 million, with neighbouring India sitting at the top at $1 billion.
With the Nepali government first taxing donations entering the country from larger aid organisations, and then blocking funds from smaller relief groups, has meant a severe delay in providing desperately needed assistance to survivors still living in make-shift shelters 12 months after the disaster.
A large percentage of money from foreign donors laid dormant as the Nepal government took more than nine months to institute a body responsible for planning a reconstruction and rebuilding campaign. Beginning on January 16, 2016 the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) was established which has begun providing families with $100 (USD) to cover basic costs. An NRA spokesman said it is not possible to supply a grant to fully cover the cost of building new homes at this time due to the difficult task of having to coordinate with different government agencies.
In addition to the immediate needs of survivors, the aftermath from the earthquake has produced an array of adverse factors. An increase in human trafficking, lack of employment, property cost burden, mental health issues, a suffering health care system and damage to tourism.
As one disaster continues to feed the other, Ms Donovan remains hopeful that a country she has lived and worked in for the past 5 years, will embrace the change ahead with strength and positivity.
“Everyone is affected in many different ways. People are still living in tent camps. Rural communities are still struggling. There are still aftershocks and so people are still scared.
But Nepalis muddle by. Nepal is very culturally diverse but one thing they share is their resourcefulness and resilience to adversity.” – Matina Moutzouris