One of the charities supported by the parish
The TV news, covering Prince Harry’s visit to Nepal, recently showed a clip from a tourist’s video taken as the earthquake struck in April 2015. It showed a scary scene of earth swaying and buildings crumbling. Practical Action has been working in Nepal for 40 years. The earthquake hit the remote Gorkha province, where they had been particularly active, very hard. Fortunately none of the staff in their local office were injured, though all of them were affected in various ways. Although Practical Action is not really a disaster relief organisation, their local roots meant that they were quickly able to help with safe drinking water, energy generation and communications, as well as providing shelters and food packages.
Practical Action has always been focussed on sustainable and resilient ways to help the poorest communities. Knowing that the area is earthquake-prone they had already been developing earthquake-resilient construction methods in the country, and eight schools and 1,300 private homes had been built in Kaski district before April 2015. They all successfully withstood the earthquake. Now Practical Action is planning, over the next three years, to provide much wider support and training for building earthquake resistant buildings, so that local masons and carpenters have the knowledge needed to do this. They will be also be supporting transitions to sustainable energy, such as hydropower and solar, and looking to improve sanitation and hygiene, as well as continuing the work they had already been doing to encourage the development and diversification of local and commercial agriculture. This will help the communities affected to regain their ability to earn their livings.
Practical Action points out that people affected by humanitarian crises are often doubly affected; both when disaster strikes, and when, after a bit, interest shifts and aid dries up. But even in places where there have not been dramatic disasters, building resilience in the face of climate change is becoming ever more crucial. It is practical, local, often small scale, efforts, based on careful consultations with the local communities and shared knowledge of what works, that can make a difference. This is what Practical Action does, and Hampstead Parish Church’s ongoing support makes a valuable contribution to this.
Practical Action
Anne Stevens