She had hoped that the government would help her rebuild the house, but the help came from a group of people she had least expected -- a team of 'all women volunteers'.
Challenging the stereotypical view that women are not physically strong enough to engage in work requiring extensive labor, the central committee of the Akhil Nepal Mahila Sangh (ANMS), women's wing of the CPN-UML, has demolished 32 quake-damaged houses, cleared the debris and rebuilt temporary shelters for 12 quake-affected needy families who cannot afford to build shelters themselves, at Budanilkantha 3 and 9 of Kathmandu district.Speaking at a function organized at Chapali Bhadrakali-3 on Tuesday, Jaya Ghimire, vice-chairperson of ANMS said, "More than 100 women volunteers from local-level and various districts were mobilized for the project. Although some of them had their own houses damaged in the quake, they showed up to help the community with selfless aid".
According to her, the volunteers group was further divided into 10 teams with 10 members each and they conducted field observation and assessed the damages in the area on May 24. "The very next day after the observation, we demolished quake-damaged structures and managed necessary building materials such as bricks, mud and timber. Our team then cleared the rubble of the demolished houses and started the construction process the next day," added Ghimire.
Chief Guest at the function, Bidya Devi Bhandari, who is also Vice-Chairperson of CPN-UML, said the team's work has proved that women can also work like men and can even outperform them if given opportunity.
"Their work is praiseworthy and should be taken as an example," she added.
Team leaders said they have given priority to building shelters for helpless squatters, the impoverished, single women, and backward groups including Dalits who cannot afford to build shelter on their own.
ANMS also distributed each of the 12 quake-victim families with relief materials including 20kg of rice and a mattress among other things.
After collecting her relief materials, Makkhan expressed gratitude for the help she received from the team. She, however, doubts whether the shelter can withstand the upcoming monsoon rains. "Rubble of the collapsed houses around will obstruct the flow of rainwater and it will seep into my house," she said.
Her husband had remarried long time back and had left her. She has not seen the faces of her two daughters since their marriage. Her son also left the house long ago and has never come back. Even after the quake, none of the family members have visited her. She carried the 20 kg rice sack provided by ANMS on her back despite her weakened state.
ANMS leaders said the volunteers will now go back to their own areas and aid their communities in the rebuilding process.
Related story
Volunteers to be deployed in all wards nationwide for voter edu...
