Thai efforts to help
Poultry farmer Samir Lama, 27, finally has a temporary shelter with a solar cell on the roof in Bhattedanda village. He is happy to have an hour-and-a-half of electricity to recharge his mobile and have his son complete his homework.
“Our village does not have electricity, so it is really nice to have it, even though it’s for a short time,” said Lama. “Before we had this, my son had to wait until the morning to complete his school work. The quake destroyed my home and that of my friends and relatives. Even though the temporary shelters are small, it is a roof over our heads during the monsoon season.”
As Nepal fades from the news, aid is still needed in the earthquake-hit nation. Among contributions from Thailand are those from DT Families Foundation, an arm of DT Group of Companies overseeing social contribution activities.
Upon hearing of the devastation wrought by the powerful earthquake, the foundation set up the “Giving Hands To Nepal” project, with its initial intention to support child survivors.
Dr Wit Soontaranun, senior vice-president of the foundation’s Social Contribution Office, said founder Thippaporn Chearavanont Ahriyavraromp took it on herself to kick-start efforts to help Nepal.
Their biggest concern at the start was finding the right people for the job. They first contacted the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), a group of architects who aim to build stronger communities in developing countries through proper town planning, infrastructure development and other initiatives.
After ACHR came on board, the following week they were in talks with Sunit Shrestha, founder of ChangeFusion, an organisation which promotes social enterprises in Thailand. Sunit, being half Nepali, was only too glad to share his contacts in Nepal with them.
After assessing the post-earthquake situation with staff from ACHR and ChangeFusion, Dr Wit and his team took a strategic approach towards addressing the relief effort by dividing the “Giving Hands To Nepal” project into three stages. In the last three months, they have managed to cover the first two stages.
“The first step was disaster relief, which entailed the construction of temporary shelters, which can last one to two years,” he said. “As communication is a must during times of natural disaster, we felt the need to provide each shelter with portable solar cell power system panels.
“The second step was the recovery stage, where we encouraged community involvement in how the temporary housing scheme was set up. This would also mean supporting integration of the economy, environment and society, a model to build a strong and sustainable community.
“The final stage will i nvolve the well-being of children orphaned by the earthquake. The foundation intends to provide education for them to complete their basic education in Nepal.”
Wilai Somdungjate-Ottevaere, chief marketing officer, DT Central Marketing, said that financial support to build shelters was provided to 50 homes in Bhattedada, a village development committee in Lalitpur District. They also worked with ACHR and Lumanti, a support group for shelters, to provide 90 temporary homes in rural districts; 20 in Sankhu, 50 in Bhaktapur and 20 in Gokarna.
Wilai said they are now entering the second stage of the project, which will help communities be self-sufficient in supporting their children.
“Our plan is to step into phase three right away by searching for partners that can help us offer the best possible education for children who have been affected in one way or another by the earthquake,” said Wilai.
From the village of Bhattedada, 60-year-old corn farmer Miley Tamang, whose house was badly damaged, divides her time between the homes of her sons and her house, which still bares the cracks of the quake that devastated the village.
“My home does not have electricity, so I really like to spend my evenings at the home of my sons who have a solar cell. It gives me more time to do my handicraft work at night before I call it a day. Having electricity in our village is such a commodity. I feel a little bad that a quake had to happen for us to get an hour of light at night,” she said.