Heera Balami and his wife lived more than seven decades in the village of Kagatigaun (Nuwakot) in Nepal raising 3 sons and 3 daughters in hardship. They never got a chance to save a lot of money as their income from farm and cattle was just enough to sustain. But they still managed to build a house for themselves, when their sons and daughters went their own ways after growing up and getting married.

In a most heartbreaking moment, they lost all they had. During the earthquake of 25th April 2015, their house was destroyed and cattle were left dead. Their life got upside down and they were devastated emotionally. They were saved because they had been gone to work in the field that day along with most of the other villagers.

They were compelled to live in a tent made from recovered materials. They took out some of the things from inside the destroyed house but lost most of other important possessions. Their children had their own houses destroyed and were busy with farming, making them unable to help their old parents.

After the quake, Nepal Rises went to the village to help the people of the village to build semi-permanent shelters by providing building materials to some families according to their situation. The old man got angry and shouted in despair saying that nobody sees their suffering and ignores them. The ceiling of their newly built tent leaked during rain, was very cold and they both were getting sick. They also showed their disappointment and said that they had lost all the expectations they had from their children.

Even though he was going through a lot, all he said he needed was some building materials. He even assured that he would hire some locals to build it. So, they were given materials after earthquake with the hope that the villagers would help them build it.

On a follow-up visit from Nepal Rises, they were still found living outside and the house was not built. It was known from Heera that the villagers had not helped because they were busy in constructions being conducted by various organizations. They also did not believe when he said he would pay them.

People from Nepal Rises who had gone for the visit encouraged the young people of the village to help them as they were the members of their own community. If young people help the old, the next generation will learn from it and help when they later grow old.

When they again visited after a week, the house was already built. When enquired, they found out that with the motivation, the labours believed that Heera would pay and built their house in some days. The house building cost almost amounted to Rs. 10,000 to the old couple. That was all the money they had, but they were ecstatic for getting a shelter. They, at least, didn’t have to live in cold from then.

Heera and his wife aren’t just the people who had to struggle to get a shelter. There are still hundreds of families who lost their homes and haven’t been able to rebuild it yet. Almost all among the 500 households of the village were destroyed and even now most of them are managing with whatever they could muster from their destroyed houses. With a little support from Nepal Rises, a small change occurred in the community which is hoped to create a momentum of changes.

Nepal Rises has been trying to put a roof over the head of the homeless people who are in need and schools for children to be kept protected. To help us, visit: www.nepalrises.com/donate