Japan quake aid in pictures

To mark the progress in building an earthquake resilient Nepal, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is holding a photo exhibition on the occasion of the third anniversary of the 2015 disaster. 

The exhibition will showcase 26 visuals of the work JICA has been carrying out  for post-quake reconstruction, along with some before and after pictures of ongoing projects such as the Paropakar Maternity Hospital in Thapathali.

 “We want to share our achievements till date with the public and let them know that positive activities on reconstruction are happening steadily”, says Nanako Tsukahara, Program Formulation Advisor at JICA.

Ironically, JICA was carrying out its ‘Assessment of Earthquake Disaster Risk for the Kathmandu Valley’ project when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Central Nepal in April 2015. The agency immediately mobilised help for rehabilitation and recovery projects within a month of the quake.

Before photo of a part of the Sindhuli Road damaged by the earthquake. Photo: JICA
After photo of the road rehabilitated by JICA. Photo: JICA

Within three years, JICA has already constructed 40% of its 54,443 target households and has repaired 184 classrooms in school in three districts. It reconstructed the damaged Kathmandu-Bhaktapur road and the BP Highway, and constructed public infrastructure such as the District Agriculture Development Office in Sindhupalchok.

“We made sure to involve the victims of the earthquake. So, we initiated the concept of community mobilisation project and trained 2,157 masons, 894 engineers and 6,518 house owners for the purpose”,  says Tsukahara. “We also conduct numerous community meetings and social trainings to build their capacity.”

Besides infrastructure, JICA has also been focusing on livelihood enhancement projects through which 1,556 earthquake victims have already received farming and production skills.

JICA distributed new breed of goats and provided goat raising training for women in Barpak, Gorkha. Photo: JICA

The exhibition will be up 20-23 April at the lobby of Labim Mall in Patan.

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