On April 25, 2015, the earth shook in Nepal, killing more than 8,000 people and injuring 22,000. Already present in the field, HI launched an immediate response in aid of those affected, providing assistance to more than 15,000 people. Ramesh, 20, was one of them.
“I was working in a small hotel when the building fell on top of me,” Ramesh explains. “I was pinned under the rubble for at least an hour, conscious and in pain. Afterwards, I needed to have an amputation. I wanted to do something good with my life. After the accident, I felt like my life was over.”
Here, Ramesh smiles as he finishes a training swim for the 2020 Paralympic Games. Thanks to HI donors, Ramesh has the independence and motivation to compete in sports competitions. He's even won 22 medals!
Over the past three years, HI has continued providing support to thousands of people who, like Ramesh, have been affected by the earthquake. We have completed more than 34,000 rehabilitation and psychological support sessions for more than 15,000 people and supplied 6,300 prostheses, orthoses, etc. to people with injuries.
Our teams have also distributed more than 4,300 kits containing tents, cooking kits, hygiene kits, blankets, etc., to more than 2,200 families. We organized the storage and transport of more than 5,400 tons of humanitarian equipment in remote villages to ensure that no one is left behind.
More than 1,500 earthquake-affected households have been given financial support in order to get them back to work through goat breeding, setting up small stores, etc. In addition, in the winter of 2015, we supplied warm clothes, blankets, etc., to more than 9,000 people.
We’ve enabled the most vulnerable people to access humanitarian services, such as education, healthcare, etc., offered by partner organizations. We also continue to organize awareness-raising sessions for more than 3,000 people to ensure the most vulnerable individuals are taken account in natural disaster risk management.
HI currently has a team of 70 people in Nepal. We support five rehabilitation centers in the country, help earthquake casualties earn a living, and makes sure children with disabilities have access to school. HI also assists victims of the floods of August 2017 by helping restore their livelihoods.