Rebuilding Nepal: two years on

It’s been two years since a devastating series of earthquakes struck Nepal in April and May 2015. Almost 9,000 people lost their lives, over 600,000 homes were destroyed, and key infrastructure such as schools, health facilities, temples and roads was severely damaged.

Thanks to public donations and the New Zealand Aid Programme, the Himalayan Trust responded quickly to provide emergency aid, including materials for shelter and to set up temporary learning classrooms for affected communities in the Everest region.

The generous response from the New Zealand public also allowed the Himalayan Trust to undertake a huge programme to construct seismic-resistant school buildings across the Solukhumbu region. With your help, communities are building back better with safe classrooms that will benefit thousands of children and their families for decades to come.

Rebuilding schools: two years on

Two years on from the earthquakes, we are proud to be able to say that over 90 seismic-strengthened classrooms and toilet blocks have been built so far.

This coming year, we plan to build a further 70 classrooms at some of the most remote schools in the region.

Howard Iseli, Programme Manager for the Himalayan Trust explains: “The schools that we are constructing this year are in very remote areas. At these remote sites, all the building materials will need to be carried in on the backs of porters, or porters and mules at some of the lower altitude sites. All the porterage routes will be steep and often many days of walking. We are aiming to get all the materials to sites ready for building to commence before the onset of this year’s monsoon.”

Progress updates

December 2016

Himalayan Trust Rebuild Programme Manager Howard Iseli has put together a short photo presentation to show you our progress rebuilding earthquake-damaged schools in 2016, as well as some of the challenges we faced.