Our Nepal Earthquake Response

“It’s so cold, it’s so cold, it’s difficult to read and write. Teeth are chattering, teeth are chattering, and all the hair on heads stand tall (in the cold)”

Shiva and Sarita Karki celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in a special way this year. They spend the day with the kids at the Jadibuti Community Center and offered a complete day meal to the children attending the center on the day.

Little kids at the Jadibuti Community Center started their day with the rhyme singing in a circle, holding each other’s hands. Few of them were innocently observing the lips movement of others who were enjoying the rhymes.

In the heart of the Kathmandu city, Jagaran Basti – a squatter community lives on the unclaimed lands along the Bagmati River. Packed like sardines in a can, it holds about 400 households. The public toilets present there are in a delicate and serious condition as their numbers are low; the count is 10.

While the boy shied away from the camera, his teary-eyed mother says, “I never expected that people like us were also provided a space in the newspaper. I cannot be more thankful to you for the joy you have brought to my son.”

“My time was respected at INCLUDED and I did not expect the amount of responsibility they entrusted upon me even though I was just an intern. The autonomy I had here is something that one does not get working as an intern in other organizations.”

When she was younger Sirmaya wanted to go abroad for work but after the plane crash in Manohara she is too afraid to fly. Her new dream is to focus on her wonderful dancing skills and to become a dance instructor. She practices with her sister every day at home.

Salam’s father is a carpenter. Salam looks up to his father and he hopes to become an engineer so that he can design and construct houses.

Anjana is 15 years old has been a part of After School Program (ASP) for 3 years. Tutoring during ASP has helped her pass all of her exams and especially excel in social studies. She is one of four students who receive all of the required school notebooks from ASP. But Anjana’s favorite part of ASP is getting to work with her best friend Akriti.

Fortunately, in February, she found a job at SHINE cleaning company through the help of INCLUDED Nepal’s Program Officer, Smriti Karki. “The pay is perhaps the same as what I earned from selling one mattress, however, this is much more stable and has made things more comfortable for us.”

Pushpa Rai, a member of mom’s club at Monohara Community Center, called Smriti Karki, program officer after office on 12th March with delight to share about her job contract with Shine Cleaning Company. The company selected her over five other eligible candidates after a month long on the job training.

Suhasha Malla is an A level graduate in Sociology, Psychology and Economics. She is working as a communications intern at the INCLUDED office and aspires to become a Special Educator in the future, aiming to provide children with the education they deserve. She topped Nepal in her Cambridge A level Sociology examination.

Binisha’s father is a driver and her mother specializes in the homemade production of local alcoholic beverages. When the little girl was born, Jamuna had to quit working and look after her child. As a result, she was unemployed for more than a year without a choice.

When asked about the After School Program’s role in his life and how it has changed him, thirteen year old Manish Basnet promptly said, “Since I joined 3 years ago, it has helped me keep my act together. I don’t know how to describe its importance in my life. All I can say is, if we ever move away from this settlement, I will ride a bus back here every day so that I can attend the program.”

Sujan’s friends, said “We were eagerly waiting for him [Sujan] to take the stage and energize the crowd like he did during the previous programs. It feels incomplete because he couldn’t perform this time.”

Chris Oliver, Chief Finance Officer with INCLUDED, enjoys a Nepali cup of tea after an eventful day at Bhaktapur with the members of the Mom’s club and the INCLUDED Team of Nepal.

A teambuilding event was organized on the 9th March 2014 for the members of the Mom’s Club with Manohara Community Center. The program intended to get the mothers of the club better acquainted with each other and establish a harmonious environment that garners a sense of workmanship and respect between the members.

Chris Oliver, Chief Finance Officer, from INCLUDED International based in Beijing, China visited the Nepal office as soon as he landed to Kathmandu on 7th March 2014. “This is my first time to Nepal,” said Oliver during the welcome meeting at the office. He was briefed about the evolution of INCLUDED’s work in Nepal and presented a Nepal timeline summary by Sneh Rajbhandari, Program Manager at INCLUDED Nepal.

On 8th March, 2014 an evening visit to the After School Program at Manohara Community Centre with Chris Oliver and the INCLUDED Nepal Team.