Building Back Together: Nepal, One Year Later

USAID recovery and reconstruction projects, like Baliyo Ghar, train construction professionals and homeowners on how to build back safer using local materials and earthquake-resistant best practices. / Laxman Shrestha for USAID/Nepal

Today marks a most solemn occasion — it has been a year since the devastating 7.8 earthquake in Nepal took 9,000 lives and injured 25,000 people. Nepalis lost their homes, their treasured monuments and, in some cases, their livelihoods. The past 12 months have been some of the most difficult Nepal has ever faced.

Since April 25, 2015, Nepal has suffered 445 aftershocks greater than 4.0, and a prolonged border and fuel crisis. There is no doubt Nepal has weathered a very turbulent series of storms.

But the clouds are beginning to clear.

This optimism is born of my firsthand experience working in Rwanda for the last four years. Like Nepal, Rwanda is a landlocked country reliant on its neighbors for access to waterways, fuel and other important imports. Rwanda also suffered a very dark hour in 1994 when it turned on itself.

But through significant reforms, Rwanda has seen sustained economic growth over the last decade, transforming into a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy — making it an increasingly valuable neighbor. The last parliamentary elections saw a majority of the seats taken by female candidates; other development successes, such as rapid poverty reduction and reduced inequality, have set the stage for even more success.

Rwanda’s story offers hope, assuring people that even in the darkest of times, a nation can emerge stronger and more focused on creating the future it wants — vibrant and reflective of people’s hopes and dreams.

To jumpstart recovery in the agriculture sector, USAID is delivering much-needed agricultural tools and supplies to farmers. / Derek Brown for USAID/Nepal

Immediately after the earthquake, USAID mobilized its partners to provide recovery support. Our health programs are preventing the spread of diseases by ensuring access to clean water and proper hygiene, delivering family planning services and counseling to women, and distributing Vitamin A supplements to 3.2 million under-5 children.

Our education programs helped get children back to school quickly and created safe spaces for them. Our agricultural programs have distributed supplies and other farming tools so that fields and gardens could get replanted. And with the spike in human trafficking, our counter trafficking in persons programs are working to reintegrate women and girls back into their communities.

USAID’s reconstruction investments include our contribution to the World Bank’s Multi-donor Trust Fund, which is supporting an earthquake beneficiary survey and providing cash subsidies for housing. The survey, deployed in all of the 14 most-affected districts, assesses earthquake damage, house by house, informing the Government of Nepal’s National Reconstruction Authority who is in most need of the cash grants.

Another way USAID is supporting Nepal is through training and technical assistance. USAID is funding two housing reconstruction projects, Baliyo Ghar and Sabal, to train more than 13,500 local construction professionals and educate 285,000 affected homeowners on building earthquake-resistant homes over the next five years. These projects will also establish local-level reconstruction technology centers and demonstration homes, and offer vocational trainings.

Finally, USAID is supporting communication and outreach in partnership with the Government of Nepal so that affected households know where to access resources and services and are armed with simple, actionable steps to build back safer.

As we put the past year behind us, it is important to take a step back and acknowledge

everything we accomplished together with the people of Nepal. When disaster struck and before aid arrived, Nepalis picked each other up and supported their families and neighbors with shelter and food.

They define resilience and defy despair. I have only been here two weeks, and yet it is clear these qualities are inherent in the Nepali people. They are the heroes of the past year.

Over the next two weeks, USAID’s mission in Nepal will remember the 9,000 people who perished a year ago today and honor the local heroes who represent the best of Nepal. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (#RebuildingLives) as we pay tribute to Nepal.

On behalf of the mission, I extend my deepest condolences to those who have experienced loss over the past year, and assure the people of Nepal that we remain a committed partner as we build back together. I’m hopeful for Nepal’s future, and I look forward to serving as USAID Nepal’s new Mission Director.

We stand with you.

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