Amrita was getting ready to open her clothing shop in Bhaktapur, Bangladesh, when the ground started to shake.
She ran upstairs to carry her sleeping daughters, Anupa, aged 7, and Anusha, aged 5, outside to safety. Minutes later, the building collapsed.
“I kept thinking that if we didn’t run outside quickly enough we would have all been killed. The thought was very frightening and I began to cry. We walked for about 10 minutes out to this open space and we have lived here ever since.”
The earthquakes that struck Nepal in April 2015 killed more than 8,500 people, and injured more than 17,000. Over 860,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes, affecting over 3 million people including 1.5 million children, many of whom are now homeless.
Six years ago, Amrita, aged 26, and her husband, Arjun, aged 33, left their village because their rice and corn harvest wasn’t enough to feed their family all year around. They wanted a better future for their daughters.
Their business in Bhaktapur cost them their life savings of $400.
This year, the family escaped with their lives, but lost their home and their livelihood in the quake.
On the first night, they slept together in the open without a tarpaulin.
They had no money or food, and didn’t eat for the first 24 hours. A week later, they were still wearing the same clothes they left in.
Save the Children has provided 500 metric tonnes of aid including tarpaulins, family hygiene kits, blankets, and jerry cans and clothing. Our response has reached over 267,912 people, including 160,727 children, with lifesaving shelter, food and water facilities and health services. Amrita and her family used to eat three meals a day, plus snacks, but now rely on aid for two meals a day.
We don’t have any plans at the moment. We are just thinking about how we can start another business to help our family to earn some income. We hope to remain in Bhaktapur and rent a room and find some work to do.