ENGAGING YOUTH VOLUNTEERS FOR EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE AND REBUILDING AFFACTED
COMMUNITIES
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: As a result of 7.8 Magnitude earthquake on 25 April 2015, 7.4 Magnitude
earthquake on 12 May 2015, more than 295 aftershocks measuring magnitude 4 or above and their
effects, the Government of Nepal has confirmed that total of 8676 people have died (4781 Female, 3894
Male, 1 Unidentified), and 21, 433 injured (As of 27 May 2015). 500,717 houses were destroyed and
269,190 partially damaged by the two earthquakes and aftershocks. 32,145 classrooms were destroyed
and 15,352 damaged as a result of earthquake (As of 25 May 2015). The UN estimates that 2.8 million
people are in need of humanitarian assistance, out of which over 860,000 people are in immediate need
due to loss of shelter, limited road access and poverty. According to the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimate, 1.9 Million people are in need of immediate food
assistance, 1.5 million people require sanitation and hygiene support, ongoing medical care is needed
for 2 million people, 1.5 million women and adolescents are in need of dedicated support including 138,
000 pregnant women1.
YOAC RESPONSE TO EARTHQUAKE: Youth Action Nepal (YOAC) has been involved in earthquake relief
and response work from the beginning focusing on disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. YOAC
promptly formed Quake Volunteers Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/983323671702633/)
immediately following the earthquake and has so far mobilized around 500 volunteers on the area of
child protection, disabled support, Health and Psychosocial support, relief distribution, and construction.
The main slogan of the Quake Volunteer is "If not now than when". The major areas of work that YOAC
has supported are:
1. Relief Distribution: Responding to the immediate relief (shelter, food, hygiene, mosquito nets etc.)
needs of various disadvantaged and needy communities, such as people living with HIV,
disadvantaged ethnic/indigenous, fisher communities etc.; YOAC has distributed relief materials to
over 1350 families. Around 80 volunteers have been engaged in relief distribution. YOAC has also
deployed around 150 volunteers to support around 15 other organizations working on rescue and
relief distribution in affected areas.
2. Construction: YOAC has been working to rebuild school structures destructed by earthquakes in
Lalitpur, Kathmandu and Dhanding districts; as well as supporting to build community shelter
constructions for 10 families of women workers in Lalitpur district. With around 80 volunteers, YOAC
have helped build disability friendly toilet construction for camps of people with disability, and
settled 100 people with disability in Kathmandu.
3. Relief to people with disability: YOAC has supported in building temporary shelter, toilet
constructions and distributing immediate relief materials to people living with disability in different
areas around Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts through 60 volunteers and local youth
groups. Relief supplies such as rice, lentils, salt, oil, Blankets, Tents, Soaps, and Mosquito Nets etc
1
http://un.org.np/headlines/infographic-nepal-earthquake-one-month
have been distributed to over 400 families of people living with disability. YOAC has been working
with Nepal Disability Support Fund to respond to the needs of people with disability.
4. Psychosocial counseling/Youth workshops: YOAC has organized psychosocial support programs to
young people in various temporary shelters and schools of earthquake affected districts through
capacity building and engagement of around 50 young volunteers.
5. Child Protection: Through the engagement of over 150 volunteers, YOAC supported child care,
trauma relief through games and music, free health checkup and basic medicines to children in over
20 displacement camps and schools around Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts.
PLAN FOR FURTHER RESPONSE: YOAC has been working in coordination with Ministry of Youth and
Sports (MoYS) to plan for coordinated youth response to earthquake affected areas and has been in
understanding to support volunteers for further phase in 14 most affected districts selected by the
government. Therefore, YOAC plans to engage and mobilize around 500 volunteers to support relief and
rebuilding efforts in coordination with the government of Nepal. Next phase of YOAC response and
support aims to involve youth volunteers together with local young people to help local communities
engage in rebuilding and reconstruction efforts.
PURPOSE: To engage and mobilize around youth volunteers to support relief, reconstruction and
rebuilding efforts in earthquake affected districts and communities.
As part of need recommended by Ministry of Youth and Sports, YOAC has agreed to mobilize around 500
young volunteers for communities in 14 most earthquake affected districts. 50 young volunteers from 5
YOAC working districts will also be invited to travel and work with earthquake affected communities in
rebuilding efforts, which will also promote togetherness and cross-cultural harmony among young
people of the communities, while contributing to the rebuilding and reconstruction efforts. This phase
of relief and rebuilding efforts will be focused on Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavre,
Sindhupalchowk, Ramechhap and Dhading district, with some support to other districts based on need.
Building on from the areas of work that YOAC has been involved so far, YOAC aims to work on the
following areas:
1. Psychosocial Support and Youth Motivation Camp: YOAC is planning to involve local
community young people in the rebuilding efforts as it is very important for ownership, as well
as community leadership and resilience in earthquake response. Furthermore, The Psychosocial
support and Youth Motivation Camp also aims to respond to the trauma of local community,
resuming the normalcy, and help them motivate in being involved in rebuilding efforts. YOAC
will conduct 20 Psychosocial Support sessions and Youth Motivation Camps in the above
mentioned districts. Professional psychosocial team will be working with schools' teachers and
local youth. Psychosocial support to community, teachers, students and parents will be done
through artist and psychologist whereas motivation camp for the local youth to engage them in
the community development will be done side by side.
2. Relief Materials Distribution and Support to disadvantaged and unreached places, including
people with disability: YOAC aims to build on its existing work serving underprivileged and
disadvantaged communities, such as indigenous people, people with disability, dalits, people
living with HIV, and of unreached places to work with them for sustainable recovery of the
community. YOAC will support 200 families from disadvantaged communities with relief
materials, working together with them to identify specific needs which will help them to sustain
long term, such as essential and varied seeds that can be cultivated, during the monsoon &
post monsoon season, saplings etc. besides food, shelter, provisions, sanitary materials,
education materials to students and so on.
3. School and Community Building Construction Support: The earthquake has destructed many
schools and community building which has put several children out of schools. YOAC has
received requests from some schools and communities citing there has not been any support to
them so far. YOAC will mobilize young people in community and youth volunteers to build
school and community building within Ramechhap, Sindhupalchok, Kathmandu, Bhaktpur,
Lalitpur and Dhading. These will be medium-term temporary shelters until a long term shelters
are built.
4. Water Treatment Support: YOAC will support to install water plant or any materials for the
purification of water in Bhaktpur district. Local organization will assure about the ownership,
maintenance of clean and hygiene. Approval from local community, and authority on water
plant installation will be done. As per the need, the materials may be changed and time may
take longer than expected as because YOAC need to minutely observe about its importance and
way of sustainability in the specific community.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION:
Evaluation will be done by the national level structure formed under the leadership of Ministry of Youth
and Sports but the orientation to volunteers, management and reporting of volunteer's work will be
done by Youth Action Nepal in regular as well as monthly basis. Project Officer for the project will help in
coordination, planning, and documentation of the project outcomes and impacts liaising with Ministry
of Youth and Sports and other concerned line agencies.
REPORTING
Project officer is responsible to report YOAC management team about the progress in monthly basis. In
the close coordination with project officer, YOAC management will report (program and financial) to
partner bi-monthly basis.
BUGETTING:
NPR 3,210,790.00 In word: NRS Three million two hundred ten thousands and seven hundred ninety
only/- (excluding water planet)
Please find the separate attached excel sheet for the detail breakdown of costs.