Providing Emergency Aid and Rebuilding Village of Hope for Women and Children
In 2002, Shared Hope built a Village of Hope, Asha Nepal (translated Hope Nepal), to serve as a permanent home for women and children who were fleeing from situations of sex trafficking. At that time, most had been trafficked from Nepal to India and with our support were finally able to return to their home country. Since then, Asha Nepal has taken in many more Nepalese victims of sex trafficking. It is also home to children who have escaped a future in the brothel and have grown up to be leaders of Asha Nepal. Many Shared Hope donors met Manisha, Pooja, Savita, and Ajay along with founder Bimala last year when they joined us in the U.S. to help celebrate Shared Hope’s 16th anniversary.
In the spring of 2015, two earthquakes devastated the village and its residents. Women and children are sleeping outside in rain-soaked tents, cooking meager provisions over open fires, and the security wall has been destroyed leaving them exposed and vulnerable.
We are their primary source of support and thanks to the support of dedicated donors, we have been able to rush emergency aid and plan for immediate repair of the buildings to ensure the safety and health of our residents.
FOOD
Ongoing aftershocks have prevented entry to the building to retrieve possessions and prohibit access to the kitchen which is on the top floor of the home. The water tank fell off the roof and there is concern for potable water. Food is scarce and cooking their meager provisions on open fires is difficult. We provided emergency funds to provide food and drinking water to residents. We worked with local partners to help facilitate ongoing support for residents during this time.
SHELTER
The Village of Hope consists of multiple homes and communal buildings which have been damaged by the earthquake. Shared Hope coordinated a team of engineers to assess the damage and prepare a plan to repair the buildings. We must work quickly to ensure construction begins before monsoon season (typically beginning in June) threatens to delay progress. Local aid provided tents for our residents but heavy rains soaked the floors. Our partners at Mission 14 visited our Village of Hope and generously donated more substantial, weather-proof tents to provide better protection to residents made vulnerable to the elements because of HIV or illness.
SECURITY
The wall securing the perimeter around Asha Nepal has been destroyed, leaving residents exposed and vulnerable to looters and those seeking to exploit individuals devastated by the earthquake. We are working to install a security team to ensure the safety of our residents until the wall can be rebuilt.
Update From the Field
We rushed emergency food, water, and tents, and also sent engineers to plan repairs and reconstruction. With the generous help of friends across America, Shared Hope began rebuilding Asha Nepal: walls, floors, ceilings, plumbing, carpeting, septic tanks, electric and telephone lines. We’ve also painted the whole building, added security walls around the compound, and put up three pre-fabricated houses.
There are still tremors. We’re still at work but the housing areas are safe, and inhabited. The children are back in school. Lives are on track!
Thank you to all who helped us meet the immediate needs — and to those who stood with us to repair the home, so the women and children in our care can continue to live in safety and freedom..
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