Volunteer in Nepal now for Earthquake Post Disaster Relief projects. We need your HELP now more than ever. It is for humanity’s sake. Your voluntary work may help save many lives. Regardless of your skill set, you will be useful. Our relief work combines hands-on and educational activities. We are working to provide safe shelters for over 5,000 families, rebuild 50 schools, early childhood centres, clubs, toilets, path ways, water channels etc. We also teach health & hygiene education, preparedness on risk and disaster management. So there is always something useful to do. So why wait? Join us now, click here to APPLY.
Some Stats of the Massive Earthquakes on the 25th April and 12th May, 2015
Nepal was hit by a strong earthquake of 7.9 magnitudes. The epicentre of this earthquake was Barpak, Gorkha between the capital of Kathmandu and tourist town Pokhara. This strong earthquake was followed by many powerful aftershocks of which the strongest on were 6.7 magnitudes on Sunday, 26 April and 7.3 Magnitude on the 12th May.
The earthquake and aftershocks took over 8,500 lives, many went missing under the rubble, and over 18,000 thousand people injured. 600,000 houses were fully destroyed. 6,000 schools were destroyed. 1.7 million children and 130,000 pregnant women were directly affected. It is estimated that over 6 billion USD was needed to reconstruct these infrastructures.
The communities VIN has been working in, Jitpurphedi, Okhaldhunga and Okharpauwa, have been devastated! Almost all houses were destroyed and people had nowhere to live. Their food, clothes and cooking resources were all buried under the broken houses! Jitpurphedi and Okharpauwa alone have witnessed 22 deaths and many dozens injured!
VIN’s Rapid Response to Post Disaster Campaign in the Communities:
VIN started immediate relief work from the next day after the earthquake. The major activities we started immediately were: Tents distribution, support on fitting tents, support in getting belongings out from the destroyed houses safely; help with building temporary houses and toilets; make people aware about the importance of hygiene and sanitation and support of soaps so as not to spread communicable diseases; teach techniques on how to purify water; spray disinfectant in surrounding environment, make people aware on diarrheal diseases and epidemic of infectious diseases; conduct mobile health camp in communities.
Post Disaster Rapid Response to the Massive Earthquake Survivors in Nepal
Despite of the massive earthquake destruction, the life is slowly becoming normal. Offices and business are open as normal hours. Electricity, communication, and means of transportation have been in system. Now people need help rebuild their houses, schools and other public entities. So we would like to invite international communities to consider volunteering with us for hands on and educational activities like reconstruction, renovation, health & sanitation. People in the cities and villages are living outside in the rain due to broken houses.
VIN invites any number of groups, individual, foreign and national volunteers to get involved in our short term and Long / Mid Term (LMTV) Volunteering projects. The short-term work camps are already scheduled as follows. So you may volunteer with us from two weeks to five months or more. Work camps run on the fixed dates, usually 2 weeks, whereas LMTV start 1st and 15th of each month. They are 4 weeks or more. Our two weeks work camp fee is 355 EUR and LMTV starts from 505 EUR, click here for more
Project Detail
Background/Project:
Many parts of the communities are destroyed to dust and many lives lost their houses and properties in this earthquake. This massive earthquake not only left people poor but left them homeless. This tragic moment made VIN realise that the reconstruction of houses of poor families, public properties, religious temples, and cultural heritage sites would be one of the best ways to support the community people.
Natural disasters often trigger epidemic outbursts and as we saw that, after the earthquake, many were living in a tent (shelter) in a group where different types of viral diseases are prone to go epidemic. VIN aims to run health camps in each places of the working sites in order to avoid such problems among the population.
VIN invites those volunteers who are interested in this issue. The work of a volunteer involved in this project can be conducting awareness campaigns on different health and mental issues and run health camps in different part of the community. Recognising these concerns, VIN organises camps to address these environmental and educational issues. It focuses on environmental protection, tree planting, working along with local partners and community people to spread health and hygiene awareness among the community people. The work will vary largely in the camps and will include some simple physical work.
Our aim through this project is also to construct temporary houses, toilets, create awareness among the people and to give them more instruments to feel confident and feel free to decide for their future, and for the future of a new generation. VIN cooperates with several local partners in assisting various schools by creating awareness about the environment; health and hygiene; working with local schools in teaching basic English through creative learning methods; simple renovation activities like painting, cleaning or construction etc.
In VIN working areas, a large number of people don’t have houses to live in and children don’t have proper schools and classroom to study. Many temples, cultural heritage sites and tourist attraction sites were destroyed by the earthquake. If we don’t aim to rebuild and reconstruct these broken homes and buildings then people will have to face a lot of problems regarding health and mental, social and emotional, economic and cultural issues.
In order to take this project to another level VIN needs maximum support in terms of human resources and funds. We have already started building temporary houses, provide food and water. Monsoon is approaching very near. Over 4000 (out of 5000) families who VIN works for need shelters but we do not have enough manpower and resources. We need your immediate HELP to assist more people in dire need. The most useful way you can help us now is volunteering directly for these relief projects.
We also would like to request you to raise some funds. Your donation will go DIRECTLY to the affected families of the communities of Jitpurphedi, Okhaldhunga and Okharpauwa. We have been coordinating our relief work with the local community so that there is no duplication of the work and effective use of the funds – people get the most out of what people donate! One hundred Euros can provide immediate relief like temporary shelter for one family. We still have 4000 + families who need your immediate support! Please consider how you can make a difference for the people in these communities who need your help now! Ask your friends and family to spread this message, encourage volunteering and donation.
Objectives:
- To provide safe shelter to the earthquake victims of the communities
- To restore the cultural and religious sites and help to rebuild the nation
- To raise awareness and provide training on correct health and hygiene practices, to manage the waste of the community.
- To renovate, reconstruct and improve the irrigation channel, drinking water supply, roads, schools, houses or any public or private properties.
- To conduct some medical camps.
- To provide psychological classes to the community people as they are mentally distress and bring them in normal state.
- To promote the friendship, understanding and solidarity among local young volunteers and cross-national volunteers.
- To provide opportunity to understand and appreciate the Nepalese culture and tradition or cultural immersion.
Work / Activities:
- Help local people construct temporary houses and toilets.
- Reconstruction and renovation of the old buildings, houses, schools, classrooms and public properties.
- Reconstruct and renovate temples and cultural heritage sites.
- Renovate, reconstruct and improve the irrigation channel, drinking water supply, roads, schools, houses or any public or private properties.
- Help conduct health camps with local doctors and nurses.
- Conduct awareness campaigns, Training on basic health and hygiene, Garbage collection& management
- Work with local women/farmers to support in their farm in order to improve their economy and living.
- Conduct psychological and some life skills sessions to the local children, youths, women and farmers.
(Note: The volunteers will conduct some of these activities on the need base of the community. VIN will orient each group on arrival which of those activities will be available)
Placement Support Process:
Each volunteer is greeted and received by VIN local staff from the airport and dropped to local host family. The first day is the arrival day. The second day volunteers will receive a full day orientation at VIN office in Kathmandu. The placement orientation will cover cultural tips, survival phrases on Nepali language, health tips, preparation for project activities and an introduction to VIN. Then actual work camp starts on from the third day. You will always be guided by a Nepali camp leader and VIN supervisors will visit you time to time for follow up support. Should you have any concerns on the work camp, you may always call us for immediate help. During or after the work camp, our staff will take you on a half day sight-seeing tour to cultural heritage sites. On the last day of the work camp, you will submit a detailed work report, fill up an exit form and sit with VIN executives for exit interview and feedback session.
Location:
JitpurPhedi Community of Kathmandu District, which is only about 11 km away from main ring road to Balaju, Kathmandu and Okharpauwa community of Nuwakot district which is 17 km far from Kathmandu.
Accommodation:
The volunteers will stay with the host family/hostel identified by VIN. We have enough families available in the community and they are safe. The living facilities are simple and basic. Male and female Volunteers will share the same living area with separate rooms. There will be 2-4 persons in one room. Volunteers are required to sleep on the simple beds. Please bring your sleeping bag.
Language:
Basic English should be spoken among participants
Leisure Activities:
VIN takes you a half day cultural sightseeing. Either before, during or after your work camp, there exists the options to undertake VIN-organised tour to Nepal’s nearby attractions.
(The detail info sheet and acceptance letter will be sent from VIN after we receive your Complete Volunteer Exchange Form (VEF) from the sending organisation)
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