Chani Maya Lo’s life is blossoming ten years after devastating Nepal earthquake
About 8,900 people died in the 2015 earthquake in Nepal and its effects continue to be felt in the lives of many Nepalis. FCA has helped disaster victims rebuild not only their old lives, but also new ones.
IN THE AREA of Lalitpur in central Nepal, Chani Maya Lo still remembers the horror brought by a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2015. If the circumstances had been slightly different, her entire family could have perished in their home ten years ago.
“I was having lunch and inviting my husband to eat at home instead of taking food out to the fields. But my husband insisted we eat outside. I was just getting ready to serve lunch when suddenly we felt the earth tremble,” Chani Maya explains.
“My five-year-old daughter was still inside the house. Thank God she was fine with her grandparents.”
The earthquake left chaos behind. Chani Maya remembers dust covering everything and hearing cries of people all around. The worst was the moment she saw her house collapse. She fainted.
“It was a terrible day,” she notes grimly.
Two years in temporary shelter
The first night, the family sought refuge in a tunnel used to grow tomatoes. They later received 15,000 Nepalese rupees, about 132 euros, for the construction of temporary shelter.
“We lived under temporary shelter for two years trying to find ways to rebuild our home.”
Chani Maya’s family home was one of the community’s worst destroyed.
“We got nothing to safety. Everyone was crushed under the rubble, including photographs.”
Three days after the quake, the family received emergency blankets, food and other essential supplies. Chani Maya’s family received help from FCA Nepal’s country office to rebuild their home.
“Others’ homes took about two years to reconstruct. With FCA, we managed to clear the ruins and build our house in just six months,” she says.
Construction professionals paid by FCA’s humanitarian aid operation monitored the reconstruction process, which significantly accelerated work.
“I love my new home, it’s much stronger than our old mud house.” It’s easy to clean and maintain, and we’ve built a kitchen and a living space where it’s nice to spend time with the kids.”
With support of FCA and Women’s Bank, a new career
Chani Maya’s life has changed a lot over the course of a decade. The family had another daughter at the end of 2015. Now the children are 10 and 15 years old. Chun Maya’s spouse works for a herbal company in the capital, Kathmandu, and the family currently lives in a rented apartment in Chapagaun for daughters’ schooling.
Chani Maya is now also part of a women’s cooperative and has received training through FCA’s local partners Solve Nepal and FWEAN, which has enabled her to earn a living by growing kiwi fruit. The project was funded by Women’s Bank.
“After the women’s group training, I planted kiwi and avocado trees outside my fresh home and also started growing seasonal vegetables,” she says proudly.
“I also bought five buffaloes and sell their milk,” she adds.
The disaster had an unexpected outcome: a stable income through sales of farm and dairy products.
“I am no longer afraid, knowing that my house can withstand an earthquake. I understand that disasters happen, but we need to be prepared instead of panicking – our disaster preparedness training taught me that,” she adds. “I also feel confident knowing that we have a strong support system through the women’s group. Even if the next disaster happens, we know we have each other.”
Chani Maya also recalls recent challenges, citing the significant damage caused by floods and landslides.
“Together, however, we got through it.”
As Chani Maya Lo looks out from her porch at the lush landscape that surrounds her rebuilt home with relief. She now finds solace and strength, and she is determined to face whatever challenges the future holds.
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Read more about our work in Nepal.
