NEPAL: Medair announces the closure of its emergency relief and recovery programme

Kathmandu, Nepal, 15 April 2019 – After four years in Nepal, Medair is officially closing its emergency relief and recovery programme, having fulfilled its objectives.

On 25 April 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, resulting in close to 9,000 deaths, and thousands more injured or left homeless. Weeks later, as the country was still reeling from the tragedy, a second earthquake caused additional havoc and loss of lives.

Medair’s Global Emergency Response Team was on the ground within 48 hours of the first earthquake, focusing initial efforts on providing emergency shelter and hygiene kits to affected families.

Conscious of the immense challenges facing communities for several years to come, Medair then began to implement “Build Back Better”, a recovery programme aimed at building over 1,200 earthquake-resilient homes in the remote Village Development Committee (VDC) of Bujilikot, in Ramechhap district.

As part of the programme, Medair and its Nepalese partner, Community Development Society (CDS), provided training to hundreds of local masons, working with them to build homes incorporating local and time-tested construction techniques: “We wanted to ensure that Medair’s efforts would not be limited in time,” said Carl Adams, Medair Country Director. “By training communities to build their homes, and supporting them throughout the entire process – from the initial administrative paperwork all the way to laying that last brick – our goal was to leave the country one day, confident that the skills acquired by communities would long outlive our presence here.”

With house reconstruction and training completed, Medair is handing over the completed programme to the local authorities at a signing ceremony on 16 April.

“I am immensely proud of the work achieved by our teams in Nepal,” said David Verboom, Medair CEO. “This is what Medair is about: standing with communities in times of crisis, helping them recover with dignity, and working hand-in-hand with them to build a better and safer future.”

Medair remains committed to the people of Nepal and stands prepared to provide further assistance to the country, should another emergency strike.

For media

Media enquiries should be directed to:

Jonathan Kyle, Regional Communications Officer (Nepal): +977 981 300 4817
comms-asia@medair.org
Diana Gorter, Executive Communications Officer (Switzerland): +41(0)21 694 84 52
gorter@medair.org

For regular updates, please check medair.org or our twitter feeds @MedairInt, @MedairAsia, and @MedairPress.

Medair is an international humanitarian NGO that provides emergency relief and recovery services to families made vulnerable by natural disasters, conflicts, and other crises. Medair is currently active in 12 countries.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and Global Support Office staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.