Sabita Nepali- A beneficiary story

At the time of the earthquakes of 2015, Sabita Nepali was selling flowers at a local temple in Devighat. She recalled that her oldest daughter was inside their home when the tremors hit, and became trapped as the structure crumbled. Incredibly, a neighbour was on hand to rescue her daughter from the debris, resulting in only minor injuries.

The whole family had survived, however the house was completely damaged. All utensils and belongings were buried inside. As a result, Sabita and her family lived in a tent with other neighbours for a month. Then the monsoons hit and made living in the tents increasingly difficult. The family then built a temporary house from the wood which could be rescued from their old home. They live in this temporary structure until this day.

Sabita had lost hope of a safer, more permanent structure. Her luck changed when a Community Messenger from the Pipaltar TSC reached out to the family, suggesting the idea of the Khadgabhanjyang visualization village as an additional mode of support being developed by the STFC. Eager to be a beneficiary within the visualization village, Sabita’s husband shared the news with his community and managed to organise five beneficiaries who later bought land in a single plot. The family were very glad to be able to buy land as part of the five landless beneficiaries who lived nearby. Not only did buying land as part of the same group plot mean that it was cheaper, Sabita also had additional support from the STFC to look forward to.

As part of the five beneficiaries of the visualization village, Sabita has been supported through on-the-job training being delivered to build her home. She works as a trainee herself in the village, and is thus learning important marketable skills in the areas of post-earthquake reconstruction. As Sabita works to build her own home, she receives income which has been central in buying materials and supporting her family.

In addition, Sabita has received an architectural drawing, support to register with the Municipality and close technical monitoring of her home from the STFC. She notes that she regularly received support and guidance from both the Khadgabhanjyang and Pipaltar TSCs. She is eager to move into her safe new home and hopes the STFC team she has built close relationships with will meet her family even after the handover of her house.