WHERE WE WORK

Although Survivors Nepal emerged in response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, its impact areas and working structure have developed and expanded over the course of time. However we continue to work on relief, recovery and rehabilitation of communities most affected by the earthquake.

Survivors works in three wards (2 VDCs in the past)​​ of about 1900 households in Sunkoshi rural municipality in Sindhupalchowk district. Sindhupalchowk is a large district in central Nepal, 75 kilometers north east of the Kathmandu valley. Although this district is close to Kathmandu, it is one of the least developed districts in Nepal, with people entirely dependent on agriculture for their survival. However since the district is hilly, the land is not very fertile, and the yield is low.

Survivors recently completed the Community Assistance on Rehabilitation (CAR) project which provided technical support to the people rebuilding their homes after the earthquake. Survivors is in the process of constructing a beautiful new building for the Thokarpa Secondary School, Bokse, with its management partner, Build Up Nepal. Currently, the school is running on temporary structures which were repaired after the earthquake. The building construction will use environmentally friendly interlocking CSEB bricks, which will be made by the villagers themselves after they’ve received training. This way the project empowers the local community, which is one of the community-centric, capacity building approaches for which Survivors is known.

Survivors provided health camps to affected communities following the earthquake and subsequently worked on issues related to national mental health policy in Nepal. Currently Survivors has two projects focused on tackling mental health stigma and discrimination in the urban areas of Kathmandu.

Currently, Survivors Nepal is undertaking a new operation;  a mental health awareness campaign. The project seeks to improve the social environment for people who would otherwise inhibit the symptoms of mental illness and would not seek health care. This project aims to address misconceptions on mental illness and encourage support for people with mental conditions.

The campaign involves conducting orientation sessions at various organizations and compnies located within the Kathmandu valley. The sessions, conducted by psychology counsellors provide information regarding what mental health is, what may cause it deteriorate, how to tackle such issues and the stigma attached to mental health in Nepal. 

Survivors Nepal so far has conducted a multitude of orientation sessions at various organizations such as Hyundai Nepal, Dristi Nepal, British Gurkhas Nepal, Frost and Sullivan, Soaltee hotel, NMB bank, Standard Chartered bank, Himalayan bank, Forget Me Not NGO, Team Quest, City Express and Creative Hands of Deaf Women.