Winning the race to build back better

With all the seismic-strengthened classrooms being constructed with our partner Himalayan Trust Nepal now complete, Satya Man Lama, Engineer Project Manager with Himalayan Trust Nepal (pictured above, right) shares his thoughts on the work over the past year.

We knew the schools we constructed over this last year would be a challenge. So we made sure we took on board all the learning from the year one projects and then carefully prioritised and planned to face the challenges.

Key challenges

Geography – the scattered geography of the second year projects was a challenge with no regular flights for cargo or people.

Weather – the unfavorable weather conditions, especially in the upper Khumbu region.

Transporting materials – making sure the delivery of materials (non-local and local including timber) to each project site before start of monsoon was crucial.

Labour – the availability of skilled labour at the upper schools was very rare and it became a challenge to engage skilled labour at our project sites. But we were able to mobilise the previous year’s trained labourers at upper schools with the support from local community.

We won our race

With the rebuilding now complete, it seems we have won our race. We are very proud that we succeeded in getting the materials to each site on time so that we could finished the entire project within our timeframe.

The skilled labourers have also been trained in earthquake-resistant building techniques, which will help them with future work.

We are proud of hearing from stakeholders that the rebuilding project under Himalayan Trust Nepal is the most exemplary rebuild project in the district.

As we reach the final stage of the project, it brings our rebuild team satisfaction and confidence in our work and happiness that we are keeping children safe and preparing the foundations for their bright future.

Thank you

At last, we are very honored and thankful to all the donors in New Zealand for supporting this great mission. Without their support, none of this work could have taken place and none of the words of my story could be written.

Thank you

Satya Man Lama
Engineer Project Manager, Himalayan Trust Nepal