“I don't think I'll be back in any kind of home in the next two years”

“I don't think I'll be back in any kind of home in the next two years”

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“I don’t think I’ll have a home for the next two years”. Read the full story of Anu Shrestra http://bit.ly/1DLo0IN #NepalEarthquake 

It will take a long time for survivors of #NepalEarthquake to get back on their feet. Read more. http://bit.ly/1DLo0IN

Torn pages of a reading book lying amongst the rubble are all that's visibly left of Anu Shrestra's house in Sankhu, Nepal. 

The family's four storey house collapsed entirely. The two buildings next to theirs are still partially standing but in the house opposite a mother and her two children died when it too collapsed. 

"We were working in the fields preparing to plant corn when suddenly the earth shook. We looked towards our town and saw clouds of dust rising all over. We were very scared and held each other. We huddled together, we were so scared. I feel so lucky to be alive,” said Anu.

Anu Shrestra, 24, now lives with her mother, daughter, husband and 15 other people in a tarpaulin shelter amongst potato fields in Sankhu, Nepal.

"We are really struggling living here. I don't feel safe going to the toilet at night and the children are scared when the wind blows against the tarpaulin. It's cold and when it rains it's awful. Sometimes, there is nothing to eat,” she said.

Oxfam has distributed hygiene kits in Sankhu. The kits contain a bucket for clean water, a bar of soap, oral rehydration salts, and towels, helping people to meet their basic sanitation needs. 

Oxfam has also provided the community with emergency latrines to help prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases.

"I don't think I'll be back in any kind of home in the next two years." 

The family's home was located in the old bazaar district of Sankhu, Nepal, in which 980 houses collapsed and almost 90% of buildings have been left damaged.

To find out more about Oxfam’s work in Nepal, click here

 

Written by: Oxfam staff

Photo credit: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam

 


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