This family of 11 lost 2 young adults in the April 15 earthquake when they were all buried under the rubble. There are 4 young children in the family. They attend one of the schools KIKN currently supports.
The family moved from a tent into the zinc house 6 months after the earthquake. The house is made out of corrugated iron for the roof and walls supported by bamboo posts tied together to give a structure/frame. The grandmother refuses to move into a brick house for fear of being buried again. This zinc house is just a shell with no wall lining, no ceiling and is built on mud floors, with holes in the zinc walls as windows. It was fine during the summer months but now with the winter the family would have been frozen stiff and risk losing several members of the family through the cold….
With the help of a teacher in the school – Raju, and our local agent, Uma, KIKN was able to have extensive and complex building work carried out to insulate the house inside with enclosed ceilings. They built some brickwork around the base of the house outside (to prevent rain coming in during monsoon season) and installed proper windows and a door. These works were achieved despite very difficult conditions. Materials were hard to source with little technical knowhow, but it is done- an amazing feat! Well done to everyone concerned in Kathmandu!
The family is surviving the winter so far thanks to each and everyone of you out there. They want to say ‘Thank you ‘, so do we at KIKN.
You are truly amazing with your generosity and kindness, across the globe ! We salute you!