“Everything we worked so hard for is gone”: Nepal flood survivor fears for children's future after losing husband and home
Nearly three weeks after catastrophic floods tore through communities in Nepal, a woman who lost her husband and everything her family had worked to build has described her fears for her children's future.
Dawasang is staying at a holding centre in Tupche, Nuwakot district, following the 26 August floods. She and her family had moved to Tupche two-and-a-half years ago hoping to build a safer life. Dawasang and her husband worked hard to establish themselves, buying a tractor, preparing farmland and gradually building up their belongings. Then the flood swept it all away.
Dawasang said:
“Everything I had gathered with so much hardship is gone. Now I have nothing left. We are receiving relief for now, but what will we do when that runs out? Who will provide for my son and daughter?”
Her younger son is studying in Grade 11, while her daughter wants to continue her education after finishing Grade 12. “She keeps saying, ‘I want to study no matter what.’ All she talks about is studying. And now I'm worried about how I'm going to educate her,” Dawasang said.
“We worked very hard to build up what we had. We bought a tractor, prepared the farmland and put in so much effort. Sometimes we worked even when we had nothing to eat. Now everything is gone.”
The 26 August disaster devastated communities along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, destroying homes, farmland, roads, bridges, hydropower facilities and livelihoods. Nearly three weeks after the floods, at least 1,386 people have been confirmed dead, and 5,130 remain missing
In Nuwakot, homes and farmland have been destroyed, riverbanks devastated and residents in Trishuli Bazar are clearing debris as communities begin the long process of recovery. With bridges across the Trishuli River damaged, some communities are relying on a Tuin – a cage suspended from a makeshift zip line – as a vital means of crossing the river.
Sujeeta Mathema, Executive Director of ActionAid Nepal, travelled from Kathmandu to Tupche to meet affected communities and help distribute emergency assistance. The journey, which would normally take around two to two-and-a-half hours, took approximately seven-and-a-half hours because of the condition of the roads.
Describing what she witnessed, Sujeeta said:
“When we spoke with people in the community, they could barely express their pain. They don't know what to do or how to move forward. Some have gone to perform funeral rites, while others are still searching for people who are missing. They don't even know whether some of their loved ones are dead or alive.
“This entire area used to be a settlement. Now it looks empty. I don't even know what is underneath where I am standing.”
ActionAid Nepal is providing emergency assistance to affected families. At Pioneer School in Tupche, the organisation has distributed dignity and hygiene kits, men's essentials, kitchen utensils, mattresses and blankets.
But Sujeeta warned that the longer-term challenge is only beginning.
“The immediate need here is massive. We can respond to some of those immediate needs now, but what long-term recovery will look like is still uncertain,” she said. “People are staying in holding centres, schools or temporarily in other people's homes. They will need temporary shelter, support to get children learning again and psychosocial support.”
Dawasang received cooking equipment, bedding, clothing and hygiene items through ActionAid's distribution. But her greatest concern is what happens to her children in the months and years ahead.
“If something happens to me, I worry about my younger son and daughter,” she said. “If someone could secure their future in some way, I would feel much more at ease. I still hope that someone might help them.”
The disaster appears to have been triggered by a major collapse of glacier ice, rock and bedrock, setting off a cascading flood and debris flow through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems. Scientists are still establishing the precise sequence of events, including the role of glacial and temporarily dammed water.
Sujeeta said the devastation should also force the international community to confront the wider injustice faced by countries such as Nepal, which have contributed little to global greenhouse gas emissions but face severe and escalating climate risks.
“Nepal is suffering, but why are we paying this price? We are paying the price of global warming and climate injustice, despite contributing so little to causing this crisis.
“The world may now present Nepal as a case study. But what is happening here is also a warning to the world. If we do not act together for climate justice, disasters like this will not remain confined to Nepal.”
[ENDS]
Note to Editors
- Sujeeta Mathema, Executive Director at ActionAid Nepal, who can speak about the people she met and devastation she witnessed in Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot district
- High-quality drone footage is available showing flood damage along the Trishuli River and across Nuwakot.
- High-resolution photography is available showing destroyed homes, farmland and infrastructure, displaced families and the continuing clean-up.
- Striking photographs show people using a Tuin – a cage suspended from a makeshift zip line – to cross the Trishuli River after bridges were damaged.
- Photography and a transcribed interview are available with Dawasang, who lost her husband in the 26 August floods and is staying at a holding centre in Tupche.
- Images are available of families in holding centres, children in temporary accommodation and people returning to homes, farmland and livelihoods destroyed by the floods.
- Photography is available of ActionAid Nepal distributing emergency assistance in Tupche.
- An English-language video interview with Sujeeta Mathema, Executive Director of ActionAid Nepal, who has been meeting affected communities and distributing emergency assistance, is available with a full transcript.
Photos, video, drone footage and transcribed interviews are available on request. Please contact the press office to arrange at uk.media@actionaid.org or on +44 7753 973 486.
About ActionAid
ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.