The earth has not stabilized in Nepal; tremors continue and people are very afraid. This fear is justified considering that the April 2015 earthquake was by far the worst natural disaster in Nepal since the 1934 earthquake. There are not many people still alive who even remember that event! Not only did the country experience a major quake but landslides were triggered causing even more deaths. 17 days after the initial earthquake, when people thought their world was settling down, a major aftershock occurred with the magnitude of 7.3. This caused more destruction, more deaths and injuries.
St Devi’s send heartfelt thanks for the money we’ve sent for repair. This is a critical time for them and work has commenced. Parents of day-students are afraid to have their children return to school at Devi’s because of the large buildings. Many feel that the earthquake weakened the structures (though the engineers stated that it is sound), and parents are uneasy and concerned saying that surely a large quake will reoccur in just a few months and the building will collapse. Day students pay tuition which pays the salaries of our teachers. It is important that our students return to us!
Devi and David are contending with many things at the moment, construction, finding enough food for the sponsored children, camping out in the church, but even so, they have come up with a solution to placate the fear. They are constructing temporary classrooms made of bamboo and corrugated tin in the playground area. If another quake does take place and the temporary classrooms did topple, it would result in little or no injury. These classrooms will be utilized until people feel safe once again.
The pictures show the students and staff ‘camping out’ in the one-story church.
