This post was originally published by Empower Generation, which merged with Pollinate Energy to form Pollinate Group in 2018.
Many residents of Kavre, one of the worst impacted districts following the first earthquake, have had their lives changed forever.
The devastating quake left many people severely injured, homeless and forcing them to spend nights outside, sometimes without shelter. Subhadra Pyakurel lives in Mathurapati-Phoolbari Village Development Committee (VDC) in Kavre, along with her eight family members.
Subhadra is a 52-year-old farmer and a dedicated volunteer working in the women’s health sector in her village. She makes a living by selling organic farm produce including vegetables and milk from her own cows and goats.
On the day the first quake struck Subhadra was working on land about 10 minutes from her home. It was a terrifying experience for her entire family to see their home and an animal shed crumbling to the ground before their eyes.
With tears Subhadra recalls her husband, together with their small grandson and other family members survived the quake.
“I was calling my cows and goats on top of my lungs when their sheds fell on them. However, with the help of my fellow villagers I was able to rescue them safely.”
“I nurtured them with love and care but seeing them in pain was simply unbearable,” remembers Subhadra.
After the earthquake, Subhadra and her family built a small shed made of zinc plates to create temporary shelter.
The powerful aftershocks coupled with a thunderstorm and heavy rain added more miseries to their tumultuous days. At night, the Pyakurel family was in total darkness without hope since the quake hit their country.
“It was beyond our imagination of living even one single night without lights and, in reality, we were in darkness almost every night after the quake. Living this way was out of the question especially for small children like my grandson who was scared to death and experiences difficulty sleeping normally.”
Holding her new solar light Subhadra shows a little gleam in her face.
“Having light in our home means feeling safe, secure, and becoming hopeful of leading a new life by leaving our past behind us,” she says, “To me, light makes me hopeful for the future.”
Help bring light to more people like the Pyakurel family.
Special thank you to Nicolas Blanchard for helping collate this story and Shree Krishna Dhital our community contact in Kavre.