Following the wishes expressed by the Village representatives (MIC) we had worked on two projects: that of a common house and that of the Bodu school (see our June 2016 trip report). We also had our Yagatchwy school building inspected to see if it could be repaired.
Yadav accompanied the experts who advised demolition, and he also took advantage of his stay in Rapcha to refine these two initial projects, and his report left us somewhat confused: as a result of a probable administrative reorganisation, buildings will no doubt be erected in the Yagatchwy area, which no longer justifies the common house project; moreover, the problem of the water supply to the Bodu sector has still not been resolved, as it does not allow the essential earth mortar to be made. After consulting our Executive Committee, we decided not to postpone our action any further, as we have funds available, and to refocus on rebuilding individual houses. When two of our members visited the village in May, we were told that around fifteen families were unable to rebuild due to a lack of funds and were living in precarious conditions (under tarpaulins or in dangerously unstable houses). It should be noted that the financial aid provided to Nepal by the International Community during the summer of 2015 has still not been distributed by the Nepalese government….

Initially, our resources will not allow us to help more than 6 families. We will therefore choose them from the list provided by the MIC. Our friend Shokhal, who has been a competent and endearing cook for many of us on treks and who finds himself in this situation, will be one of them straight away, given his generosity (he donated his land for the construction of the dispensary). Marc Bechet and Jean Claude Raimbault will be visiting the area in October, accompanied by Vincent Pena, who has already worked as project manager on a similar project in Lapsibot for our friends from the MOINA Association. They will validate the families’ choices, introduce Vincent, explain our approach and prepare the worksite (demolition schedule, choice of site if it has to be modified from the old house, possibility of recovering materials, ordering wood, sheet metal for the roof, etc.). They will also decide on the purchase of good quality basic equipment (shovels, picks, trowels, etc.) and small power tools in Kathmandu.

This equipment will be left with the community for future rebuilding. They will donate half of the sum allocated to each family for these purchases, and the balance will be paid on completion of the work.

They will also study the arrangements for demolishing the first floor of the school building and the project to rebuild the Bodu school, which has not been abandoned but simply postponed.

In this way, the work will start at the beginning of 2017 (before the period of work in the fields, which requires a lot of manpower), under the supervision of Vincent Pena, from Asherman, and with the participation of the masons who trained at Lapsibot at our request.

We are continuing to meet with students, architects and engineers on a regular basis to validate a construction model so that local residents can adopt and reproduce this model of earthquake-resistant construction using local human and material resources.

We are also looking at ways of preserving water resources (recovery, storage, distribution). In line with our mission to improve health conditions, we will also be subsidising the construction of chimneys to evacuate smoke outside, in order to prevent eye and respiratory pathologies caused by smoke from the traditional central fireplace; these will be integrated into rebuilds or added to existing houses. Similarly, our initial exceptional effort to provide medicines following the earthquake and the resurgence of illnesses caused by precarious housing conditions has been extended. The 1,000-litre tank for the dispensary will be installed in the coming weeks, as soon as the state of the tracks allows it to be transported.

We are continuing to pay the salary of the science teacher at Basakhali Secondary School.

Next steps:

  • Continuation of the rebuilding work so that all the inhabitants can benefit from decent housing,
  • Completion of the Bodu school site,
  • organisation of the demolition of the first floor of the Yagatchwy building.

To achieve this, we need to remain mobilised and active in order to raise the funds needed for these actions.

B.Simonet on 04 September 2016