Nepal Rehabilitation Update US Donor Report

An initiative of Sewa International 1712 Hwy 6 South, Suite A Houston, TX 77077

Report Prepared by

BIJAY MISHRA M.A., SWADESH KATOCH, B.S., SEWA INTERNATIONAL, SEWA INTERNATIONAL, USA NISHANT AGARWAL, B.S., SREE N. SREENATH, PH.D., MNO, SEWA INTERNATIONAL, NEW DELHI SEWA INTERNATIONAL, USA

Aug 31, 2016

Table of Contents I. Introduction ...... 1 I.1 Purpose of this Report ...... 2 I.2 Structure of this Report ...... 2

II. Projects Status Summary ...... 2

III. Rehabilitation Challenges and Project Delays ...... 4

IV. Hostels Project ...... 5 V.1 Current Status ...... 5 V.2 Construction Project Delays ...... 6 V.3 Construction Project Progress ...... 6 V.4 Naming Credits ...... 7

V. Hostel for Girls at Bharatpur, ...... 8

VI. Hostel for Boys at Nilkantha, ...... 11

VII. Hostel for Boys at Lothar, Chitwan District ...... 14

VIII. Village Community Centers ...... 16

IX. School Constructions ...... 17

X. Vocational Training: Sewing Center ...... 18

XI. Toolkits Distribution ...... 19

References ...... 20

Sewa International Rehabilitation Project

Report: Aug 2016

Figure 1: Hostel at Dhading under-construction. I. INTRODUCTION

As a humanitarian response to the April-May 2015 earthquake in Nepal, Sewa International and its partner organizations in Nepal (see Box I) undertook rescue (0-72 hours), relief (3 days-3 Box I: Sewa International Partners months), and subsequently operations. • Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) Historically, Governments generally are very • Pragyik Vidyarthi Parishad, cooperative during rescue and relief and allow • Pashupathi Shiksha Prasar Samiti nonprofit humanitarian organizations to serve. • Jan Kalyan Pratisthan The Government of Nepal provided special • Janjati Kalyan Ashram

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permission only to a very select few NGOs to operate during the relief phase. Sewa International was privileged to be one among them. The Government of Nepal has already transferred guardianship of 80 of the 300 orphan children promised to Sewa International and its partners. Of the 80 children, 29 are currently residing in temporary rental homes run by Sewa and will be transferred to hostels that are being built through Lead Sponsor donations from the US. Additional children will be accommodated by Sewa International as the guardianship is transferred from the Government to Sewa International over the next year. I.1 Purpose of this Report This progress report is provided to donors in the US who have contributed to the rehabilitation projects benefitting 2015 Nepal Earthquake victims. I.2 Structure of this Report In Section II we give a summary. Section III details the rehabilitation challenges and the resulting project delays that have been endemic to all International Donor projects of such kind post 2015 Nepal Earthquake. Section IV discusses the current status of the Hostel projects in general. Sections V-VII details the progress of each of the three Hostel projects along with a brief description of the activities of the children already in Sewa’s guardianship and who are residing in temporary rental housing. Section VIII covers the Village Community Centers followed by Section IX that discusses the School building project. In Section X features the Vocational training centers. Section XI describes the Toolkit distribution project. Throughout this report currency is in US Dollars represented by a ‘$’ sign.

II. PROJECTS STATUS SUMMARY

Sewa International’s Nepal Rehabilitation project (see Box III) though slowed down due to continuing political instability and bureaucratic delays, is back on track. See Section III for reasons for the delay. The locations of the project are given in the map in Figure 2. The rehabilitation projects consist of: (i) Building three hostels to house 200 earthquake orphaned children (100 girls and 100 boys); (ii) Rebuilding three schools; (iii) Constructing 40 Village Community Centers; (iv) Vocational Training for Livelihood development focusing on Tailoring; (v) 200 toolkits distribution (each $35) for residents living in narrow lanes whose houses had collapsed; and, (vi) Distribution of 10,000 School kits (each school kit costed $6). Currently, 80 children have been transferred to the guardianship of Sewa International and partner organizations by the Nepal Government. Government policy of requiring the orphaned children to be cared for in their native district constrains options for Sewa International to search for solutions. Of the 80 children, 29 are being cared for in temporary rentals, who eventually will be housed in the hostels sponsored by Sewa’s Lead Sponsors in the US. One hostel with a capacity of 50 boys in Nilkantha, Dhading is months from being completed. Land for the Lothar Boys Hostel has been acquired and building construction will be starting soon. Land for hostel at Lothar, Chitawan is being finalized.

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Forty village community centers are planned and discussions with the communities has begun. Two hundred toolkits project in Bhakthapur, the city of ancient temples, has been completed.

Three schools are being constructed. The Schoolbag distribution for 10,000 children across Nepal has been accomplished.

Box III: Nepal Rehabilitation Projects by Donors from the USA

Completed (2015): ü School Kits for 65,000 needy rural students with 10,000 sponsored by US Donors (see Sewa International’s Aug 2015 School Kit Distribution report). ü 200 Toolkits distributed to individual homeowners for clearing collapsed houses in narrow streets.

Ongoing (2015 - present) I. Three hostels for housing 200 earthquake orphans. a. One Girls Hostel, Narayangadh, Chitwan District. b. Two Boys Hostels – Nilkantha, Dhading District ; and Lothar, Chitwan District. II. Rebuilding 40 Village Community Centers. III. Construction of three Schools: Panchakal, Khabre District; Malekhu, Dhading District; and Sindhukot, Sindhupalchok District. IV. Vocational / Livelihood training.

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Figure 2: Map of Nepal showing location of proposed sites for Hostels and Schools construction.

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III. REHABILITATION CHALLENGES AND PROJECT DELAYS

Rehabilitation programs pose a different set of challenges along a longer timeline. Crucial in rehabilitation is the need for licensing that the national and local governments control through their bureaucracy. These run from acquiring land for social projects, to building permits, and, acquisition of the children orphaned during earthquake from the Nepal Federal Government. Such licensing requirements is usually the primary cause for delays. Additionally, any political instability in the country exacerbates the delays. In the case of Nepal, both these factors - political instability and bureaucracy - have proved to be a deadly combination to delay effective deployment of the foreign aid. See Box II.

Box II: Rehabilitation Delays in Nepal

After the 2015 Earthquakes (April 25 and May 12), an International Donor conference was held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, on Jun 25, 2015. A reconstruction and rehabilitation package valued at $4.1 billion USD was pledged by various foreign governments and donor agencies. It needs to be recalled that after a decade of Maoist insurgency since 1996 killed 15,000, the movement of democracy ultimately resulted in removal of the monarchy in 2008. Nepal has been perpetually politically unstable in its quest for a constitution ever since. Ongoing negotiations at the time of the earthquake for a permanent constitution to succeed the 2007 interim constitution that followed the movement for democracy took center stage resulting in continued political instability. With this, the rehabilitation and reconstruction post-2015 earthquake came to a virtual halt. But when the permanent constitution was proclaimed on Sep 20, 2015, a blockade of goods from India into landlocked Nepal ensued. The blockade was enforced by an influential, but small faction of the Madeshi community, the inhabitants of the southern plains or Terai who felt that the new federally based constitution discriminated against them since automatic citizenship rights were taken away for children of women married to foreign citizens [1]. Many of the Madeshis share close socio-cultural ethnic ties with cross-border marriages with their counterparts across the Nepal-India border (‘roti aur beti ka rishtha’ – essentially relationships formed of ‘breaking bread’ and marriage) [2]. Transportation fuel, cooking fuel, medicine, and earthquake relief and construction material shortage followed the Sep 2015 blockade. More than 50 people lost their lives in clashes with law enforcement. Economic activity and in particular tourism slowed considerably. Construction came to a virtual standstill. Prices rose multiple folds and began to come down slowly only after the blockade fizzled out in Feb 2016. However, construction material were still 2-3 times pre blockade prices in May 2016. On the other hand, the $4.1 Billion fund donated and pledged by International relief agencies had not been used a year after the earthquake leading the German lawmaker Dagmar Wohrl to warn publicly in April 2015, that “… private donations to foundations and nongovernmental organizations would no longer be available if Nepal did not use the aid soon.” On July 24th, 2016 the Nepal Coalition Government fell (8th in ten years, and 22nd in 25 years) to avoid an inevitable no confidence motion as a fall out of the blockade and inability to handle the post-constitution adoption crisis [5]. A new Government was formed on Aug 3rd, by the former leader of the Maoist insurgency and faces many hurdles [6] continuing the instability.

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IV. HOSTELS PROJECT

Sewa International is committed to building three Hostels for the earthquake orphaned children. A total of 200 children will be accommodated in these hostels. In the sections below we will cover the budgetary aspects (Section IV.1), reasons for the Hostel Project completion delays (Section IV.2) and naming credits (Section IV.3). We will be discussing in detail the status of the hostels and the activities of the children in Sections V. V.1 Current Status The Budget is described in Table 1 with a breakdown for the three different hostel projects in the earthquake affected areas of Bharatpur (100 girls), Dhading (50 boys) and Lothar (50 boys). All locations are in the interior hinterlands and on mountainous terrain, throwing up logistical challenges for infrastructure development as well as maintenance. The Infrastructure project cost consists of land purchase and acquisition cost, architect fee, legal payments to be made at government offices in district and center, cost of supervision and other miscellaneous expense, and, construction cost. Post construction, furniture and appliances will be acquired. As per the local customs most of the furniture will be custom built as this is the cheapest and most feasible option. It is planned to have computers, television and internet abilities along with renewable solar electricity as appropriate. Funding for the hostel project is split into funding from a Lead Sponsor which covers the construction cost (see Table 1), and the remaining amount being covered by the funds raised for Nepal Rehabilitation by Sewa International.

Table 1: Hostels project location, estimated timeline and sponsor details Current Children in Sl. Construction Status (present and Hostel District Sponsor Temporary Rental No. estimated) Housing May 2016: Land identified; Bay Area & CA Donors 16 (25 max Jul 2016: Down payment paid; Girls' Livermore temple: $35K capacity in rental). Aug 2016: Permissions, permits & Hostel, Bharatpur, IASJC: $10K + $10k per Remaining girls to 1 licenses being acquired. (100 Chitwan year for next 10 years be brought in Nov 2016: Break ground girls) Indian Assoc. of when building Oct 2017: Building Completion Sacramento (IAS): $7.5K completed Dec 2017: Move in

Aug 2015: Breaking Ground Boys' Nilkantha Temporary hostel RTP Donors May 2016: Foundation completed. Hostel Municipality with 12 boys (20 2 Hindu Society of North Aug 2016: Walls being raised (50 Dhading children capacity) Carolina, Raleigh, NC: April 2017: Estimated Completion boys) Bensi $52k Jun 2017: Move in Challenges: Jun 2016: Land purchased (27,000 sq. Mountainous, ft.) Boys' hence difficult to AIM for Seva (Swargiya Sep 2016: Engineering Drawing Hostel Lothar reach. Plans for 3 Swami Dayananda Nov 2016: Permits and Licenses (50 Chitwan children to be Saraswati) Dec 2016: Breaking ground boys) housed in a Dec 2017: Estimated Completion temporary rental Feb 2018: Move in home

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The annual maintenance cost consists of facilities maintenance as well as the upkeep of the residents including well-being, health, education, boarding and lodging costs. These costs are $25 per child per month. Maintenance funds will be raised locally in Nepal gradually reaching 100% coverage by 10 years. In the interim, Sewa will be seeking other donors for maintenance costs. In the case of the Girls Hostel, Bharatpur, Chitwan district project, Indian Association of San Joaquim County (IASJC) which has committed to donating $10,000 per year for the next ten years. V.2 Construction Project Delays Four constraints slowed down the progress of Sewa International Hostel construction projects: i. The adoption of the Nepali constitution and its repercussions amidst federal political instability slowed down the permit and license providing regime of the bureaucracy at both the federal level, and, the local district and village level. ii. The Nepal-India border blockade of fuel, medicine, construction and other goods (see Box II), the construction projects slowed down and crawled to a halt. iii. Sewa is permitted to open and run hostels. However, for each new project involving fund from foreign donors, it needs to get approval from Social Welfare Council (SWC), Government of Nepal. The chart in Figure 3 shows the procedure for receiving approval. iv. In response to post-earthquake human trafficking incidences, the Nepali Government took over the guardianship of all 700 orphaned children and had them reside in the districts of their hometown in temporary governmental facilities. It then made a policy to release the children to qualified NGOs based on the Government’s own internal criteria and calendar that accounts for the readiness of the NGO to house and take care of the children. In addition, the Government is requiring the NGOs to have the children reside in their native districts even after transfer of Guardianship. The Nepali Government has granted Sewa International the permission of guardianship of 350 children (250 boys and 100 girls).

It is within these constraints that Sewa International has to act under. By August 2016, the Nepali Government had released nearly 80 children into the guardianship of Sewa International and its partners. Sewa International then tactically undertook renting temporary housing and accommodating these 80 children. Of these children 29 (Bharatpur 16 girls + Dhading 13 boys) are being cared for under the projects that Sewa International is sponsoring. Remaining are under the care of the projects of Sewa International partners. V.3 Construction Project Progress The Hostel projects are at different stages of progress towards completion. A quick summary is given below in Table 1. The present and estimated status of the construction status is provided.

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Village Development Committee / Municipality

District Administration Figure 3: Permit and license Office / Development Office acquisition flow. / Child Welfare Committee

Social Welfare Council

V.4 Naming Credits The Hostel projects will be named after the Lead Sponsor(s) once the construction is completed. The name of the Lead Sponsor is as given in Table 1 and Table 2. The names will be displayed prominently in the front as:“Donated by ‘Lead Sponsor(s)’, City, US_State, USA”.

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V. HOSTEL FOR GIRLS AT BHARATPUR, CHITWAN DISTRICT

As project delays mounted that were beyond the control of Sewa International (see Section IV.3 and Box III), Sewa decided to search for an alternate temporary solution to house the 16 children that the Government transferred guardianship to Sewa (Table 2). An old unused building was repurposed and renovated (see Figures 5 and 6) towards the Girls' Hostel. See Figure 4 for the renovated Hostel that will house a maximum of 25 students this year. Once permanent housing is constructed, 100 girls who were orphaned, abandoned and displaced due to the April 2015 Earthquake currently under the guardianship of the Nepal Figure 4: Girls hostel after renovation. Government will be housed here. The hostel will ensure that all the children attend nearby government or private charity schools. In addition, Sewa will provide supplementary education for the children’s all round development by providing them computer, music, performing arts and sports skills training opportunities. Local volunteers are recruited along with some paid staff to impart these skills. Table 2: List of orphaned children transferred to Sewa by Nepal Government.

Sl. No. Child's Name Age VDC / District 1. Sunita Praja 9 Lothar, Chitwan 2. Binu Maya Praja 8 Lothar, Chitwan 3. Rekha Chepang 14 Lothar, Chitwan 4. Malati Pariyar 7 Gajuri, Dhading 5. Hema Chepang 10 Korak, Chitwan 6. Geeta Shrestha 7 Korak, Chitwan 7. Sabita Tamang 10 , Makwanpur 8. Ramila Chepang 8 Korak, Chitwan 9. Samjhana Tamang 10 Natta, Nuwakot 10. Laxmi Praja 7 Korak, Chitwan 11. Bhula Maya Rai 13 Ugu, Okhaldhunga 12. Sushila Kumari Rishidev 11 Bradanga, Morang 13. Anjana Thapa Magar 12 Kamput, Dhading 14. Barsha Majhi 9 Bainiya,Morang 15. Sushmita Laxmi Rai 8 Waksha, Okhaldhunga 16. Kritika Puri 12 Siruwabari, Sindhupalchok

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With this in mind, Baalika Chhattravas (Girls' Hostel) at Navaratna Tol in Bharatpur of Chitwan District started formally with 16 girls in the hostel (Table 3). The hostel has been named 'Aamako Maya Chhattravas' (Mother's Love Student Hostel) and is running under the supervision of Warden Krishna Kumari Giri. Children are already getting adjusted to their new home. See Figure 6 through Figure 10 for various activities of the children at the hostel. Meanwhile, Sewa personnel have been working hard to buy land to be used for the construction of a Hostel building. The team has shortlisted a few sites and has also received pre-approval from District Administration Office, District Child Welfare Committee, and the District Education Office to run the hostel. If things go as planned, it is expected that the new facility will be available in Dec 2017 for moving in.

Figure 5: Repurposed building before renovation (top photos) and during renovation (bottom photos).

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Figure 7: Volunteer Shanti Sharma spends an Figure 6: Children at play. hour a day at girls’ hostel making the girls play, sing, dance, meditate and learn.

Figure 8: Children all dressed up are ready to go Figure 9: Girls in Hostel having their breakfast to nearby Government school.

Figure 10: Girls after Devi puja.

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VI. HOSTEL FOR BOYS AT NILKANTHA, DHADING DISTRICT

The final architectural drawings for the two-floor hostel in Nilakantha Municipality of Dhading has been acquired and construction has begun for the Dhading hostel. See Figure 1 that indicates that brick walls are coming up. In addition, see Figures 11 to 13 for the engineering plans and construction photos.

Figure 12: The front view (top) and the ground floor plan (bottom, 866.81 sq. ft.) for the Dhading hostel.

Figure 11: First floor plan for the Dhading hostel (866.81 sq. ft.).

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Progress in Construction is as below: • Damp Proofing Course (DPC) completed. • Tie-beam type structure above 4 feet brick wall tied throughout the wall. • Pillars erected for the ground floor. We also have received approval for running our projects in Dhading from Municipality office and District Administration Office (Figure 14). Social Welfare Council requires a similar document which we are pusuing. We expect to receive the letter within a week time. Currently 13 children are accommodated in the temporary rental housing (Table 3) and can be seen with a staff person in Figure 15.

Figure 13: Dhading hostel construction.

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The letter

From: District Administrative Office, Dhading, To: ‘Sri Janajati Kalyan Ashram Nepal, Birgunj, Parsa.

Sub: Permission. As per the request for permission made by the organization involving in the development of Tribal society, the office permits the organization to launch their programs in accordance with their Act.

Signed by Chief District Officer

Figure 15: Permission letter from Chief District Officer.

Figure 14: (Left) Children at the Dhading hostel relaxing with a staff person. (Right) Shyam Parande, Global Coordinator, Sewa International at the Dhading Hostel construction site.

Table 3: Children accommodated at a temporary rental in Nilkantha, Dadhing.

S.No. Kid's Name Age Grade 1. Ram Hari Chepang 11 2 2. Rabi Bhatta 11 6 3. Bhuwan Bishwakarma 11 1 4. Kishan Pariyar 10 1 5. Bishal Thim 11 1 6. Rajan Silwal 9 3 7. Arbind Rana 14 8 8. Dhan Bahadur Shrestha 10 4 9. Bikesh Uraun 16 10 10. Santosh Shreshtha 10 3 11. Sudeep Chepang 12 6 12. Ramesh Tamang 12 6 13. Sukraj Rana 17 11

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VII. HOSTEL FOR BOYS AT LOTHAR, CHITWAN DISTRICT

Lothar Village Development Corporation (VDC) is one of the remote VDCs of Chitwan District inhabited mostly by the poor tribal Chepang community (see Box IV). Sewa has acquired 27,380 sq. ft., of land for building a hostel for orphaned Chepang children. For construction of the hostel, Sewa has hired Architect and Engineer Binod Dhakal to prepare Engineering drawings and project estimates.

Box IV: The Chepang Community: The Chepang are an indigenous Tibeto-Burman people group numbering around fifty-two thousand mainly inhabiting the rugged ridges of the Mahabharat mountain range of central Nepal. Over the past two or three generations the Chepang have begun to slowly shift from a semi- nomadic (slash-and-burn) lifestyle to a more settled way of life, relying increasingly upon the produce of permanent fields of maize, millet and bananas. The severe topography, however, has made permanent farming difficult (and usually insufficient) and the forest has remained an important (although decreasingly so) source of food for the Chepang. Historically, the collection of wild yams and tubers, fish caught from nearby rivers, bats and wild birds, and periodically wild deer hunted from nearby forests, have supplemented their need for carbohydrates and protein. With increasing population, lack of arable land and few irrigation options, despite forest supplements, malnutrition has been an historic problem for the Chepang who have often been characterized as the poorest of Nepal’s poor. Chepang men and women are basically egalitarian and no social ranking exists as it does in caste Nepalese society. Many Chepang cannot read and write due and deprived of school beyond elementary, despite that the nation has been making great gains in reducing illiteracy. According to the 2001 Nepal Census, there are 52,237 Chepang in the country, of which 67.63% were Hindu, 23.38% were Buddhists, 7.49% were Christians, and 1.25% others. They are mostly located in Dhading District, Chitwan District, , , and Tanahu District. The Chepangs themselves follow Animism, although they are strongly influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism, which came from the Tamangs just north of them. They observe all the Hindu festivals of Dashain, Tihar and Sakrantis besides their own tribal festival Nwagi or Chhonam, which is performed on a Tuesday during third week of Bhadra (some day in August and September). Chhonam is the auspicious day for eating a new crop. Before the celebration of this festival, there is prohibition for eating certain agricultural products. The language is also known as Chepang but is called Chyo-bang by the people themselves. Chepang are among the most vulnerable due to the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. More than 50 per cent of the people killed were from marginalized communities ranked low in the Human Development Index (HDI).

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Figure 17: Children in Lothar community. Figure 16: Sewa Volunteers with Chepang Community

Figure 18: Acquired land for building the hostel in Lothar, Chitwan district.

Figure 20: Sewa Volunteers with Chepang Community lighting candles on Figure 19: Vehicles need to pass through such brooks eve of New Year 2073 BS. (on April 12th) on the way. With the outbreak of monsoon, the road connection gets disrupted. The remote villages become inaccessible.

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VIII. VILLAGE COMMUNITY CENTERS

The construction of ‘Sewa Community Centers' is awaiting Nepal Government's 'Rehab Policy'. Meanwhile, the plans and programs are taken to the local communities for consultation (Figure 20). Sewa is planning to construct 40 such community centers.

Figure 21: Discussion with the local community regarding Construction plan of 'Community Centers'

List of Districts and number of community centers planned to be built in those districts are as below:

Big Sized Community Centers Small Sized Community Centers Sl.No. District Number No. of 1 Gorkha 1 Sl.No. District Community Centers 2 Ramechhap 1 1 Dolakha 2 3 Sindhupalchok 1 2 Okhaldhunga 2 4 Kathmandu 2 3 Sindhupalchok 2 Total 5 4 Lalitpur 2

5 Makwanpur 2 Medium Sized Community Centers 6 Nuwakot 2 Sl.No. District Number 7 Ramechhap 2 1 Chitwan 2 8 Kabhrepalanchok 2 2 Rasuwa 2 9 2 3 Sindhupalchok 2 10 Gorkha 3 4 Okhaldhunga 1 11 Kathmandu 2 5 Kathmandu 2 12 Rasuwa 2 6 Sindhuli 1 Total 25 Total 10

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IX. SCHOOL CONSTRUCTIONS

Sewa International has committed to build day schools in three earthquake affected districts. As per our plan, the status is as follows: 1. Malekhu VDC of Dhading District (purchase complete). 2. Panchkhal Municipality of Kabhrepalanchok District (purchase in progress). 3. Sindhukot, Sindhupalchok District (in search of land).

The recent change in law made by Government related to buying and selling of land has created some difficulty. We wanted to acquire 111 Ropani of land, however we were allowed to acquire only 75 Ropani (one ropani = about 508.72 m² or 5476 sq. ft.) without special permission. So the process for getting No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Government Ministry is going on. We expect to receive the NOC soon. Similarly, the process for acquiring permission for building construction and running a residential school also requires special Governmental permissions. Land for the similar purpose is to be acquired at Sindhukot of Sindhupalchok District too. The construction plans will be implemented soon. See Figures 21 and 22 related to the School construction project.

Figure 22: Lands acquired for School projects.

Figure 23: The School Construction Committee at a meeting.

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X. VOCATIONAL TRAINING: SEWING CENTER

In response to popular demand a 'Sewing Training Center' was inaugurated at Chitwan as short- term skill development center for women (Figures 23 and 24). The center is run by Janajati Kalyan Ashram Nepal (one of the project implementing partner of Sewa). Focus will be upon the women- folk from Quake-affected districts. Currently the center is set up with 3 sewing machines. Neema Praja, a staff member is supervising and training 13 women in multiple shifts.

Figure 24: Inauguration of the Tailoring Training center.

Figure 25: Shri Prem Thulung of Sewa International’s partner Janajati Kalyan Ashram, experimenting with a sewing machine.

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XI. TOOLKITS DISTRIBUTION

Sewa International found early on that there was a need to distribute toolkits to individual homeowners whose collapsed homes were in narrow lanes where heavy earth-moving equipment such as tipper trucks and dozers could not reach. These included hammer, pickaxe, shovels, crowbar, hand-truck wheelbarrow, coping saw, cutters, trowel, gloves, helmets, basket (doko), tawa and a construction basket (see Table 4). Two hundred toolkits each valued at $35 was distributed to residents of ancient and historic town of Bhaktapur Figure 26: Toolkit distribution ceremony in Bhaktapur. which had seen tremendous destruction (Figure 26). These residents of towns who lived in narrow lanes had been unable to retrieve their own intimate and important possessions even after three months after the earthquake. Still there was strong requirement of debris management.

Box V: Bhaktapur and need for Toolkits is the smallest district of the Nepal (with 138.46 sq. km). Bhaktapur City (also known as KHWOPA in Newari, is ) is one of the major historical, cultural, tourist area in Bhaktapur district. The city is famous for 'King' curd and 'Bhadgaule Topi' (Hat) is well popular in entire country. Bhaktapur city is located around 1350 meter above the sea level and 6.88 sq. km area is covered by it. It is the center for wood carving, bronze carving, Pauva art, clay and ceramic products. World renowned historical monuments such as the Five Story Temple, 55 Windows palace, Dattatraya Temple are located in this city, and is known as the 'cultural city' and a 'living heritage'. In 1997, the UNESCO has listed major areas of this city such as , Taumadhi Square and Dattatraya square in world heritage site. Another historical city Madhyapur (11.47 Square Kilometer area) is located in Bhaktapur district. Large number of temples, Sattals and Patis are still well preserved in this city too. During the Nepalese New Year (Baishakha) festival, here 'Tongue Piercing Festival (Jibro Chhedne Jatra) and spectacular color festival (Sindur Jatra) is celebrated very joyfully. The April 2015 earthquake and strong aftershocks collapsed and damaged a very large number of cultural sites. Just in Bhaktapur city 333 city dwellers lost their life and a thousand were injured. Many lost their home. Within Bhaktapur municipality area, around 4134 houses has been fully damaged. Among them 2015 houses need to be demolished. But they cannot be demolished properly due to very narrow lanes. Homeowners had been helpless as they did not have the tools and equipment to carry out the clean-up and demolition.

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Table 4: Toolkit composition shortlist and cost (100 Nepali Rupee = $1)

Cost in Sl # Tool Nepali Rupees 1 Pickaxe 225 2 Shovel 275 3 Basket ( doko with rope) 150 4 Tape 175 5 Saw 160 6 Rope 250 7 Tawa (construction wok) 360

8 Gloves 185

9 Mask 50 10 Hammer 650 11 Cutter 350 12 Wheelbarrow 700

Total 3,530 Figure 27: Toolkit distribution beneficiaries.

REFERENCES

[1] Majumder, S., “Why India is concerned about Nepal's constitution,” BBC News, Delhi, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34313280, Sep 22, 2015 (Accessed Aug 25, 2016).

[2] Haviland, C., “Why is Nepal's new constitution controversial?” BBC News, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34280015, Sep 19, 2015 (Accessed Aug 24, 2015). [3] “The Great Nepal Earthquake: One Year Later,” The Diplomat, http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/the- great-nepal-earthquake-one-year-later/, April 23, 2016 (Accessed Aug 25, 2016). [4] Barry, E., “A Year After Earthquake, Nepal’s Recovery Is Just Beginning,” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/world/asia/nepals-earthquake-recovery-remains-in-disarray-a- year-later.html?_r=0 , April 30, 2016 (Accessed Aug 25, 2016). [5] “Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resigns,” Al Jazeera, Jul 24, 2016, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/nepal-prime-minister-khadga-prasad-oli-resigns- 160724134624798.html (Accessed on Aug 26, 2016). [6] Gurubacharya, B., “Look at 11 key challenges facing Nepal's new government,” US News and World Report, Aug. 4, 2016, http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-08-04/look-at-11-key- challenges-facing-nepals-new-government (Accessed Aug 28, 2016).

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