One year after the earthquake, Projects Abroad volunteers are making a significant impact on disaster relief efforts in the Kathmandu Valley
Projects Abroad Disaster Relief volunteers work at a site in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Press Release – NEW YORK – April 27, 2016 – One year has passed since the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal in April last year. While Nepal is doing everything it can to recover and rebuild, the country is still in need of significant aid and resources.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, Projects Abroad initiated a Disaster Relief Project to assist with the recovery process. Since the project began in June 2015, hundreds of Projects Abroad volunteers have made incredible progress in helping with the organization’s goal of restoring a safe learning environment for children in the Kathmandu Valley. Currently volunteers’ efforts are focused on reconstructing Yashaswi Gurukul English Secondary School, the sixth Disaster Relief site to date. Their help has been invaluable, as Homnath Adhikari, director of the school, explains:
“Our school was not levelled during the earthquake, but damaged beyond repair. The building has been marked as condemned, and no longer safe to house students. Though we currently have students in lean-to structures, our numbers have climbed post-earthquake, as we have taken many students from surrounding areas whose schools were completely destroyed. We are grateful for the volunteers, whose hard work will allow us to hold lessons for our growing classes in a safe structure.”
When the work at Yashaswi Gurukul is completed, the new building will also serve another purpose. As aftershocks continue even nine months later, and the fear of another large-scale quake remains, the school building will be able to serve as a safe gathering space for the local community, in case of further disaster. Projects Abroad staff estimate that work at this site will conclude in the next month or so, and then volunteers will move on to the next site where they are desperately needed.
Projects Abroad has made a commitment, not only through Disaster Relief but also through Teaching and Care Projects, to restore stability to the education of young students. In working with dedicated local experts and volunteers, the organization is striving to get Nepalese communities back on their feet, brick by brick!
For more information on how to get involved with Disaster Relief work in Nepal, please visit www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-projects/building/disaster-relief/volunteer-nepal.
Projects Abroad was founded in 1992 by Dr. Peter Slowe, a geography professor, as a program for students to travel and work while on break from full-time study. The program had its genesis in post-USSR Romania, where students were given the chance to teach conversational English. After a few years just sending volunteers to Eastern Europe for teaching, the company expanded to sending volunteers of all ages around the world on a wide range of projects.
Projects Abroad is a global leader in short-term international volunteer programs with projects in 30 countries and recruitment offices in the UK, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Holland, Hong Kong, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and the United States.
For details on volunteering abroad, visit Projects Abroad’s web site at www.projects-abroad.org.
