With the money I received from reconstructing trails, I built my house, says Binod Karki in earthquake-affected Nepal
Published: Jan 10, 2018 Reading time: 2 minutes
“I arrived from India on the third day after the earthquake. Everything I owned was under rubble,” says Gorkha resident Binod Kumar Karki. On April 25, 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal followed by multiple aftershocks and landslides. More than 8,500 people lost their lives and over half a million homes were destroyed. For the first few days, Karki had to dig through the rubble just to gather grains and cooking equipment to feed his children.
Three years later, Karki was one of over 2,000 local construction workers rebuilding the remote Himalayan trails damaged by the earthquake around his village. The trails are the only way for these communities to access markets, schools, health clinics, and other villages. Over 125 km of trails were reconstructed last year alone under a project funded by UK aid and led by People in Need, with the support of local partners PHASE Nepal, Lumanti, and Scott Wilson Nepal.
With limited work opportunities in Nepal, Karki used to travel yearly to India to work and send money back to his family; this year he was able to work on the trail project at home, which also meant he could start rebuilding his house. After almost 40 days on the project, he received £328, most of which he used to buy construction materials for his new home. With the remaining money, he bought a buffalo and goats to begin a small livestock business.
Many villagers like Karki used the money they earned to help rebuild their earthquake-destroyed houses. Over 1 million GBP has been disbursed to local worker teams over the past year. This money has been reinvested in the communities, allowing survivors like Karki to restart their lives.
