For some people, the earthquake may be just a memory now - but the children in the hardest-hit zones are still facing insecurities and problems.
Abhishek from Chapagaun, a grade nine student, had just
turned 13 when the earthquake struck and damaged his shelter. Although he has
returned to his school, which luckily was not badly damaged, he is still sad
because he sees his future as bleak.
He used to be top of the class and was very confident about
becoming a doctor. But, after the earthquake, it was noticeable that he was not
able to concentrate on his studies.
Abhishek said: "On the one hand our family is facing
financial crisis and on the other hand, we four families with seven members
each are now living under the same tent, which has created a lot of mess in my
life.
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| A temporary learning centre in Nawalpur Picture: Manoj Pandey |
"When I sit down to do my homework, either I become
distracted with the fear about our finances or get disturbed by the people who
are busy in their own work."
This is a great load of insecurities for a child who has
recently become a teenager. Abhishek is just one example. There are thousands
of children who are going through the same insecurities.
Since the earthquake, many organisations like UNICEF have helped
over 100,000 children continue their education and helped to provide
psychological support and health facilities. But there is a lot more to do.
Although the government, along with other organisations,
worked on building temporary learning centres made up of zinc and bamboo, the
dream of quality education seems just a dream if the process of rebuilding
isn't completed soon.
Teachers are finding the temporary learning centres are not
as effective as their schools. They do not have enough good teaching materials
and they have to speak loudly so that hundreds of students can hear their voice.
Children have become disturbed. A report by UNICEF and
partners three months on from the earthquakes revealed those children's fear
and anxieties at losing their homes and living in tents.
Most of them are afraid, as they are in the vulnerable zone
which is frequently hit by landslides and floods in the monsoon season. It's
very sad that nearly 900,000 homes were destroyed in the earthquake, leaving
thousands of children homeless.
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Mahakali Secondary School lies unused Picture: Prakash Shrestha |
In this context, monsoon not only brings heavy rains and
triggers landslides but also increases the risk of water-borne diseases and
worsens the sanitation conditions.
In these six months, although people are working to return to
their normal lives, many survivors - mainly in mountainous and hard-to-reach
areas - still need urgent help according to a UN report.
Recently I got an opportunity to talk to a secondary level
science teacher - Bikash Deshar of Nawalpur, Sindhupalchowk - about the
conditions in schools and for children after earthquake. Here is what he said.
Tell us about your school and how was it affected by the
earthquake?
The school where I teach is Nawalpur Secondary School. There
are 15 teachers and 458 students. We lost two students in the disaster. One
student was a primary-level student and the other a girl in grade six.
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| Living conditions for earthquake survivors in Chapaguan |
All the students are now living in temporary shelters as all
of them have lost their homes. 90% of our school was damaged and now we are
teaching at temporary learning centres.
Are you facing any problems at the temporary learning
centres?
After the earthquake, the number of students at our school
increased. The nearby schools of the village were totally damaged so we started
teaching in temporary learning centres. Although it was good that many children
returned to school, the centres have no proper and permanent walls. The noise
disturbs both the teachers and the students and they cannot focus on what they
are doing.
Do you think this problem is going to end soon?
No, I don't think so as it will take a long time to complete
the task of reconstruction. It seems that it will definitely take two or three
years to make the school as it was before.
What are the other problems children are facing?
At school, children get the care from teachers and support
from their friends, so it seems that they are trying to go back to their normal
life. While some of them are still fearful about the next disaster, most of
them seem to have overcome the fear of disaster but are still insecure about
their financial and household problems.
Are there organisations working with them on these issues?
Plan
International and Oxfam are the main organisations working here. Plan
International has mobilised the youths of the village in the reconstruction and
cleaning after the disaster and created a source of employment for the villagers.
They provide $150 as their monthly stipend.
As the big Nepalese festival of Dashain and Tihar is soon,
when people need more money to celebrate, Oxfam has started a road construction
programme where they provide $160 to the workers so that they can celebrate the
festival. To increase the students' attendance in school,Teach For
Nepal had started a mid-day meal programme and provided some
stationery to students.
Is there any help from the government?
The government fulfilled its promise by providing $150 to
people for their temporary housing. Apart from that there is no effort from the
government. Permanent shelter is very important to protect people from other
disasters and health issues.
What do you think should be done to improve conditions?
Although all these efforts are being made, I think these are
not sufficient in the long term. I think some income-generating skills should
be given - training should be provided so that people can at least start their
own business or work.
Otherwise, financial insecurity will increase and the work of
reconstruction will take much longer than we had imagined. And this will
further increase other insecurities.
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