Volunteers implement mitigation measures for their local communities to be prepared for earthquake aftershocks.
Women volunteered in Chandragiri, Kathmandu and demonstrated their vital role with their implementation of non-structural earthquake mitigation measures. As part of the USAID/OFDA funded programme Frontline, the residents in Chandragiri identified earthquakes as the top threat in the community, and non-structural mitigation as one of the priority actions to be implemented.
A group of women who had previously been trained by the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) to protect their own homes using non-structural approaches, such as screwing cupboards, photo frames and their fridges to the wall, were mobilised to put their skills to use across the community.
Now, they are implementing the mitigation measures in their locality as well as outside their community, including in ten different schools and a hospital in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
Not only has this initiative been a step towards achieving a safer community, but it has also boosted women’s confidence and empowered them with important new technical skills and new leadership roles in their communities. Furthermore, these skills have led to women being engaged in new income-generating activities.
This story is published as part of the campaign for International Volunteer Day 2017: Volunteers Act First. Here. Everywhere.