After finishing my Master's in Landscape Architecture from Auburn University in Alabama, USA, I was working at P Allen Smith & Associates as a Landscape Designer/Architect. It was almost midnight in Little Rock, US when I reached home from a banquet at my friend's college. One of my brothers, who is in the US, told me that Nepal was struck by an earthquake and Dharahara was reduced to rubbles. But I thought he was joking, so I didn't take it seriously.Later, as I checked the news online, I froze as I read news with images of dead bodies, demolished buildings and heritage sites in and around Kathmandu. The first thing I did was contact my parents, relatives and friends. In the days that followed, I struggled to concentrate on my work, yet pushed myself to go to work every morning and pull a cheerful face in front of my co-workers.
In the meantime, I started asking myself what good I was for my country with all the education I received. I spent hours and hours in front of my computer reading news and updates of continuous aftershocks, feeling pathetic and helpless for not being able to do anything.
Just then I came across posts from Bibeksheel Nepali (BN), whose work in building 21st century leadership for Nepal I had been following much before the earthquake struck Nepal. I learnt that they were working on post-earthquake 5R-strategy (Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, and Resurgence) and were working forward into the Reconstruction phase with the concept of 'model village.' This idea hit the right cord in my mind and I decided to initiate this project; I couldn't wait for others to take lead. I coordinated with Sanjay Rimal Dai from BN-USA unit and got in touch with Govinda Narayan Dai from BN-Maharajgunj headquarter. The next thing I did was quit my job in the US and booked a one-way ticket to Nepal. I wanted to volunteer on the project for at least five months. Looking back, I'm glad I made that decision.
On my first day at BN office in Nepal, I was nervous yet excited to step forward on the model village project that I was driven and motivated to work for ever since I learnt about it via Facebook. First, I met with Govinda Narayan Dai and I was quite impressed by his humbleness. He offered his support in this project with much ease, and I saw in him the passion to bring positive change in Nepal despite the prospects of challenges we could face during our project.
I was then introduced to BN's Anusha Thapa, who helped me connect with people and volunteers involved in this project. Govinda Dai explained how important this project was and how it could work as a reference to design other communities in the future. Also, we wanted to equip ourselves with other architects and engineers for their feedback during the ongoing design process. I understood that networking is very important to move forward in projects like this while utilizing skills from people with different expertise.
I also individually met with other young people working at BN. I was fascinated to see fellow youth working diligently for our country. I saw enthusiastic individuals in the team, and it didn't take me long to understand why Bibeksheel Nepali had garnered so much support and appreciation from people worldwide.
During my survey period at Dhoksan, I met Yoni Tayer, a cheerful French guy who volunteered his four-day stay in Nepal for building Bhukampa Karkhana. He was enthusiastic about what he was doing, and his love for Nepal encouraged me to work even harder. I was constantly discovering myself and learning the actual meaning of life while working on the project.
Besides, I was amazed and inspired to see the post-earthquake resiliency of people at Dhoksan. I met few children there, who were full of surprises. An eight-year-old girl named Rupa cooked food for her family, took care of her younger sister, and went to school! Another five-year-old boy, Aaley, washed his own dishes. These children who did all their chores, went to school, played with their friends in mud, lived in temporary shelters, ate simple food and yet were the happiest children I've ever seen. I still remember Ujwal Thapa Dai (President of BN) once told me: "What we do for the society not only changes society but ourselves too." Well yes, the work I was doing was changing me.
We started with a questionnaire survey to better understand the existing condition of the site. Our survey team comprised of young and accomplished volunteer leaders. Saurav Sharma, a geotechnical engineer, volunteered to test soil sample for our project. After we finished our first phase of site survey, we did a presentation on our site analysis in front of a panel comprising urban planners and architects. Their suggestions and comments helped us to move ahead on our conceptual planning phase.
We brainstormed and worked extensively for a month and produced the first phase of conceptual graphics which we presented among some friends at Bibeksheel Nepali and also among the locals of Dhoksan. Feedback from the locals helped us deal with the local problems closely and encouraged us to come up with solutions.
We presented our final conceptual presentation at the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA) and are currently working on raising funds to implement this project. The reconstruction project, which was initiated by Bibeksheel Nepali, is currently moving forward in collaboration with local villagers, clubs and Hausala Foundation, a non-profit organization. Our sole aim is to build a sustainable model village at Dhoksan which is one of the worst affected villages by the April 25 earthquake.
It goes without saying that all Nepalis, irrespective of which corner of the world they're in, love Nepal dearly. From my experience in this fellowship, I have realized that if I want to see positive change in my motherland, I need to act and become that change. And it is completely up to us to decide whether to wait for the perfect moment to jump in or actually step out of our comfort zone and work towards bringing change even when it's not ideal. Change doesn't happen if we simply hope and stay idle.
Pratisha is a graduate of Master's in Landscape Architecture from Auburn University in Alabama, USA, currently volunteering at Bibeksheel Nepali.
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