The aftermath of the earthquake is being removed

Comprehensive building and refurbishment measures have been started.

Besides having caused thousands of dead and injured people, the heavy earthquake last April also caused severe material damage, among them also facilities of the NHB. Especially hard affected was the Sindhupalchok district with its numerous schools run by the aid organisation. The expert opinion of the consulting engineers as well as the one submitted by the NHB stated that six schools have to be rebuilt from scratch. Further eight buildings are in need of extensive repairs. The total costs will amount to 900.000 Euros. Now the work has finally started, and it will take two or three years to complete it. A moment everyone had been pining for.

Unfinished building put to a meaningful use

The community of Sangachok, whose school had been completely destroyed, used the lucky circumstance of being able to move into an unfinished building which had been lying idle for several years. Now the building will be ready for occupation in a few weeks, and then the majority of the 500 pupils can move in from their makeshift dwelling made of corrugated iron and bamboo. Then these will make way for a two-storey building with twelve classrooms and an office with estimated building costs of 170.00 Euros. While the skilled workers will be from the county town of Chautara and from Kathmandu, the men and women from Sangachok do their part as unskilled workers. The Shree Janagrity Higher Secondary School is said to be finished by December 2017 and will offer 600 boys and girls a school to feel at home at.

The four-storey, almost completed school building in Sanosiruwari had also been massively demolished by the heavy earthquake. At the moment these damages are being repaired with the help of the installation of a bracing construction. After its completion work continues with the erection of the inner and outer walls. If all works out according to plan, 400 children will finally move into their new school next year in summer. These refurbishment measures will total 65.000 Euros.

Laying the first stone for the new school

With the laying of the first stone on September 25th 2016 the works to rebuild the Shree Setidevi Higher Secondary School in Thulosiubari started. It had also been completely destroyed. It once was the biggest school of the Nepalhilfe, substantially co-financed by the alpinists Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits. In the future there will also be a two-storey building with 12 classrooms and rooms for administration which then will be used by almost 600 children and teachers. For the first construction stages 100.000 Euros have been allocated, and almost the same amount will be needed for the finalisation.

The Sukute Lower Secondary School has been completed by now and the courses are being held, even if the walls still lack paint. The small village school, attended by 115 children, had suffered severe damage to the ground level. It costs 17.000 Euros to mend these damages.

The Shaligram home for children in Lubhu was also damaged by the earthquake. Luckily these were only minor damages. Besides the richly embellished pavilion also parts of the perimeter wall collapsed. This wall and the entire entrance area have been completely refurbished. After all, the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the home for children shall be celebrated at the end of this year, an event for which everything should look as good as possible.

Still a long way to go

In the light of the works which finally have started, the NHB feels the urge to thank all donors. Only through their support it was and will be possible to get the steps towards reconstruction on their way. It is indeed a long way because new projects should also be addressed, which makes additional funding necessary. But as we all know, every hiking trip starts with the first step.