The earthquake, which hit Nepal on 25 April 2015, has cost the lives of more than 8,000 people and injured more than 22,000.

From the beginning, nearly 6,000 Luxembourg donors have provided support to the Nepalese population with almost €375,000 for projects of Handicap International. However, three months later, thousands of people still need help. Handicap International's teams are continuing their work with the most vulnerable in the long term.

Handicap International has been active in Nepal for 15 years and was able to intervene immediately to help the victims of the disaster. The association drew on its experience with the management of victims following the earthquakes. For three months, Handicap International teams of physiotherapists responded to more than 1,500 victims in 11 hospitals in the Kathmandu valley and in hospitals in Nuwakot district (Bidur, Trisuli) and Sindhupalchok, and in the Communities of 7 districts. The teams from the association have provided trauma care (head injuries, open wounds), conducted more than 5,900 rehabilitation sessions and distributed more than 970 mobility aids (wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, splints).
To help victims overcome their trauma, the teams also provide psychosocial support, individually or in groups, and social support to guide these individuals to other actors that will support their specific needs.

"The situation of the patients we take care of is improving. Our priority is to provide support to all who need it. We have therefore established fixed points in communities, especially in the district of Nuwakot. We are conducting rehabilitation sessions, psychosocial activities and closely monitor our patients. Every week we also pay visits to people living in more remote areas of the district. And every day, we identify about 10 new people requiring rehabilitation care," said Prakash Niraula, physiotherapist for Handicap International in Nepal.

Material support to the poor

Following the quake, more than 160,000 homes were destroyed and more than 143,000 houses damaged. To help those families who have lost almost everything, Handicap International has distributed more than 4,300 kits containing necessities (tents, kitchen sets, hygiene kits, blankets) and equipment for designing sheet metal roofs in order to protect from the monsoon, to more than 2,200 families in the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Kathmandu.

Logistics platform

In addition, to manage the delivery of humanitarian aid to the various distribution points in the villages and communities of Handicap International, since 12 May, the management has been at one of the two storage centres for humanitarian aid in Kathmandu. Storage space has also been set up in the district of Nuwakot (in Bidur) and Rasuwa (in Dhunche). The association also provided transport of humanitarian aid to the various distribution points in the villages and communities. These storage and transportation have facilitated the involvement of all the other NGOs on the ground.

Services accessible to all

To enable all persons to contact Handicap International and benefit from its services, a hotline has been created. Also, the technical unit inclusion of Handicap International is working with all humanitarian actors on the issue of inclusion of vulnerable people. The association is involved in the coordination forums and working groups and aims to ensure that all vulnerable people are taken into account in the services offered by humanitarian actors.

Persistent needs

Three months after the earthquake, teams from Handicap International, currently composed of 19 expatriates and more than 100 Nepalese, continue to work with victims. They maintain their rehabilitation activities, identify every day new patients needing specific and psychosocial care and aim to strengthen the inclusion of the most vulnerable in the services offered by humanitarian actors.

"The support of our generous donors in Luxembourg is crucial not only to allow to complete the ongoing projects but also to plan future activities for the Nepalese people. Indeed we also prepare post-emergency action, to enable people affected by the earthquake, more than 2.8 million people to benefit from a long-term support and recover gradually to a normal life" said Anthony Jacopucci, head of fundraising for Handicap International Luxembourg.