CRI听力:Reconstruction Urgently Needed in Nepal after 2015 Earthquakes

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 and another one measured at 7.3 on May 12 last year were the deadliest natural disasters in nearly a century to hit Nepal.

It left over 9,000 people dead and close to a million homes destroyed.

But nearly a year since the disasters, Harkha's family is still living in a makeshift relocation camp in the quake-hit Bhakatpur, the birthplace of Nepalese art and architecture.

"It has been nearly a year since I moved into this tent."

Harkha's fate is shared by many across the country, where one in four of a 28-million population lives on a daily income of less than 1.25 US dollars.

Till now, tens of thousands of the quake-affected families still have to stay at temporary shelters built with tarpaulins and iron sheets, facing shortages of daily necessities, power and medical services.

Gu Shouyi was heading a Chinese medical team in south Nepal's Chitwan region when the quake struck one year ago.

Along with his 17 team members, Gu treated more than 350 injured locals and made donations to those in urgent need.

He has also observed the reconstruction work over the past year.

In his opinion, there are two top priorities at present.

"In the severely affected areas, the most important work mainly includes the rehabilitation of the injured and rebuilding homes for those displaced."

Like Gu Shouyi and his medical team, many foreigners joined the quake relief effort and later, the reconstruction work, in Nepal.

Chinese national Zhang Jun owns a bookstore in Kathmandu.

After the quake, he decided not to leave, but to stay and offer help.

In those toughest days after the quake, Zhang and his fellow rescue workers transported food and daily necessities to five hardest-hit areas, in person.

"When I was distributing food, I talked with a man who was in tears . He lost his wife in the quake. But he said he must bring up his three surviving children. They were his only hope. When I was in the quake-hit area, most of the people I saw there showed confidence in their recovery."

In addition to foreigners, many local NGOs have also been busy raising funds and collecting materials for reconstruction.

Among them is the Arniko Society Nepal, organized by Nepalese graduates returning from China.
Arniko usually raises donations through their Wechat and Weibo accounts, collecting money and materials from Chinese donors and later redistributing them to those in need.

One of their ongoing projects builds houses for the displaced in the hard-hit Dharamasthlali, an ancient town just miles from downtown Kathmandu.

Earlier this month, five new homes were handed over to displaced families.

Chair of Arniko explains the project.

"These five households had lived in makeshift iron-sheet huts after the quake. But now, they can live in these new residences. We built two-bedroom houses for the displaced families. Each covers an area of no more than 30 square meters and costs close to 280,000 Rupees."

As an important step to accelerate the reconstruction, the Nepalese government has recently allowed NGOs, both domestic and international, to mobilize their resources in all related relief projects.

For CRI, this is Zhao Jianfu.