“We have no toilets and we worry about diseases”, says Nepal earthquake survivor

“We have no toilets and we worry about diseases”, says Nepal earthquake survivor

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“We have no toilets and we worry about diseases.” A survivor of #NepalEarthquake shares her plight. Read more. http://bit.ly/1INkaX8

Oxfam provides water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) support to survivors after any disaster. Know more. http://bit.ly/1INkaX8

Kanchi Yonjan, 60, holds her seven-month-old granddaughter Senchumaya in her arms outside the hastily constructed tarpaulin shelter she shares with 17 others following the partial collapse of her home during the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015. 

“My husband was at home carrying my granddaughter like I am now when the earthquake came. I was working in the fields. I was very worried for them because he is old like me. They escaped out of the window,” said Kanchi.

A massive earthquake devastated Nepal, leaving nearly 9000 dead and thousands more injured.

According to United Nations eight million people have been affected by the disaster and 2.8 million have been displaced. Over 500,000 homes have been completely damaged, including Kanchi’s home.

“We will have to rebuild but we have to wait until after the monsoon ends. We will spend the monsoon season in a tent,” she said.

A resident of Chhampi, Nepal, Kanchi is worried about the health of her family, due to the lack of toilets and bathing facilities.  

“We had toilets in our houses before, now we have to go outside. We go to the river to bathe. We worry about disease because the children just go on the side of the road now and we cook outside on open ground,” Kanchi said.

Oxfam is working in five districts: Kathmandu valley, Dhading, Gorkha, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchok. 1340 latrines have been constructed in the five districts.

Click here to know more about Oxfam’s work on Water, Sanitation and Health (WaSH).

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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