A Beneficiary Story

Sukumaya Bishwokarma’s stone mud masonry house was completely destroyed during the earthquakes of 2015. Since then, she had been living alone in a temporary shelter made of CGI sheets and working as best as she can, making ropes, and working on construction sites as casual labor.

Without a family to support her, Sukumaya was struggling to make ends meet. With little revenue, she had given up hope of having land of her own and building a new home. In 2018, she learned about the support she was eligible to receive from the STFC project. That year during the monsoon, a member of the Manakama TSC visited her for monitoring and informed her of all the support available through the reconstruction program.

Sukumaya was always very sweet with the TSC engineers and they realized her vulnerability. They made sure to followup closely with Sukamaya’s reconstruction project. By regularly meeting her, liaising with her ward officials, and the NRA on her behalf, she received the 2 lakhs “top-up” for the landless beneficiaries. She was also supported through the site selection, along with her neighbors who were all landless people from the Dalit community. With the guidance of the STFC, they worked together as a community to buy land.

With land and architectural drawings provided by the STFC, Sukumaya was able to start building her dream home. She employed masons and observed her dream become a reality.

STFC engineers, builder trainers, and community messengers continued to support Sukumaya, visiting her regularly, to monitor each stage of construction and ensure the construction was NRA compliant.

Looking to the future, Sukumaya is excited to live in her own home, confident that it is earthquake resilient. This security will be important to her as she continues to rebuild her life.

Sukumaya thanked the STFC for their support: “In the past, we had no land for reconstruction, so we had no hope to ever have a safe roof over our heads. We had been living in a temporary shelter without a proper supply of water and electricity, suffering from cold, wind, and rain. Although construction is hard and we have had to make some sacrifices, we have been working hard ourselves in construction to minimize the cost and we are happy to have a safe home.”