‘We go to our old house for lunch and dinner, but we come back to the tent to sleep’

24 Oct 2015

‘We go to our old house for lunch and dinner, but we come back to the tent to sleep’

By Namita Rao

“We used to live together under one roof before it came down in the earthquake. Now, six members stay here in this camp and the other four have rented out a small flat. We all go to our old house for lunch and dinner, but we come back to our tent to sleep. We celebrated Dashain there and did the puja together. The earthquake broke up our family, but we can’t keep thinking about the old times and complaining about the situation. My sons will earn enough money. We have to rebuild our house and stay together once again as a big family.”

Photo: Namita Rao

23 Oct 2015

‘This year I did the Dashain puja in one corner of my relative’s home’

By Namita Rao

“This year I did the [Dashain] puja in one corner of my relative’s home. My home collapsed in the earthquake and my neighbour had to get me out of the rubble. In the last six months, I have had to move several times. The first night I slept under the open sky. The next day we collected plastic sheets lying around and made a small tent. Rescue teams then came in with different services and that’s when everyone started fighting for food and tents. Now, I live in this tent provided by one of the NGOs and this is what I have to call home.”

Photo: Namita Rao

23 Oct 2015

‘This time I may not be at home for all the celebrations’

By Namita Rao

“I have celebrated this festival for 23 years now. It was always the same. We went to the temples, did the puja of the gods and goddesses, cooked food and spent time with the family. However, this time I may not be at home for all the celebrations because I have a project in Rasua. I am reestablishing the schools that have collapsed so I will be leaving whenever they call me. It has definitely been very different this year, not as joyful as before. In our prayers, we made it a point to thank God that the family is alive and we are not jobless.”

Photo: Namita Rao

23 Oct 2015

‘If people don’t have a house, how will they enjoy the festival?’

By Namita Rao

“Dashain is not the same as it was before. Six months after the earthquake, there are so many people still living in 15-18 tents in my neighbourhood. If people don’t have a house, how will they enjoy the festival? They feel embarrassed to welcome their relatives into a tent that they share with three other families. On the first day of Dashain, I stood in the petrol line with my bike from 4 am to 11 pm for five litres of petrol. This is a testing time for us, but it has made me realise we need to be independent, take ownership, assess what we have, and make the most of the local resources.”

Photo: Namita Rao

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