The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that shook northwestern Nepal on November 3, 2023, barely made the news.
Yet for our neighbors living in the mountainous Jajarkot district, it was the tragedy of a lifetime.
Damage from the November 2023 earthquake in Nepal
Your impact for earthquake survivors in Nepal
Thanks to your quick action, critical help quickly reached these neighbors in crisis. In the immediate aftermath, you ensured families had blankets, water jars, mattresses, and tarps and bamboo poles to build temporary shelters.
But you didn’t stop there. As the slow process of recovery continues, your compassion continues to help in two major ways:
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Constructing sturdy shelters for 175 families who lost their homes.
Your generosity is providing locally sourced wood, high-quality corrugated metal sheets for roofs and walls, and other construction supplies. These structures are safer and more earthquake-friendly than traditionally built homes. |
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Providing psychosocial counseling to 2,000 people who experienced severe loss.The impact of trauma is immense. Counseling has been proven to help some individuals avoid developing serious mental health conditions following a traumatic event. It also helps people process their grief, find hope for the future and feel cared for during an extremely hard time.
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Meet the neighbors you’re helping in Nepal
In an instant, Sabitra BK lost everything when her stone and mud house collapsed, killing her 4-year-old daughter. You can imagine the depth of her grief.
“I used to work in agriculture, and she was always with me in the field,” she recalls, through tears. “We would eat together, talk and laugh. Now, she remains in my memory only.”
As a farm laborer, Sabitra was barely making ends meet before the earthquake. Afterward, she suddenly had no home and no money to rebuild. And this time of year, when temperatures drop to near-freezing levels at night, is no time to be without safe shelter.
“I am staying under a thin tarpaulin,” she says. “The cold and a fear of wild animals is always there.”
The makeshift tent Sabitra used as a shelter
As Sabitra processes her grief, you are sharing love by providing counseling to help her find hope and healing. You are also providing materials and construction support to build a basic but sturdy home for her to begin again.
“Thank you to Lutheran World Relief for providing us with the transitional shelter where I can stay safely,” she says. “If a similar type of light structure was constructed earlier, my daughter would not have died.”
Duddha Bir Kami also lost his home in the earthquake. The images of that night are vivid in his mind. “My house crumbled. I could do nothing but watch the house fall down. I struggle just to obtain my daily food; building a new house would be like a dream task to me.”
Duddha worked hard all his life, only to lose everything in an instant. You are an answer to prayer as you help him rebuild.
“I got information from the local [government] office that Lutheran World Relief is supporting the earthquake victims by providing temporary shelters,” he said. “Thanks to LWR for their support, I have hope that I will rise again.”
Thank you for loving your neighbors in the midst of crisis
Your fast response saves lives and comforts your neighbors in their time of need. But you don’t have to wait until the next disaster strikes to make a difference. By giving today, you’ll make sure we can act quickly and stay longer when a future emergency happens.
