Survivor stories: After the earthquake

As our team continues to deliver aid to families in need after Nepal’s massive earthquake, they are meeting courageous people who survived the disaster and are now able to tell their harrowing stories.

Meet a few of the people we’re helping below, and follow our response for the latest updates from the field ▸

Hari, 65, was in her field when the earthquake hit. It threw her to the ground and left her family of 15 homeless. They are now living in a makeshift tent with a tarp Mercy Corps provided as part of an emergency kit.

“The earthquake happened right after lunch. We were in our fields. The young children were playing outside the house. We couldn’t grab anything from our houses because we were already outside. We were shaken and couldn’t stand up. Everything around us was shaking and there was dust everywhere.”

Their house is still standing, but just barely, and they haven’t changed their clothes since the earthquake. There’s a little bit of clothing and food inside the house, but they won’t go inside for fear another tremor will knock it down. “I’m just worried about how to survive day to day life,” Hari says.

Paridhi, 5, is one of Hari’s grandchildren. She’s shy, but her grandmother explains how the children have been affected. “The kids ask us, what happened to our house? Why are we staying in a tent?,” Hari says. “We explain to them the facts about the earthquake. We told them we are suffering because of this. But they are too young to understand.”

When asked about what happened during the earthquake, Paridhi remembers, “My uncle took me and ran with me. I was scared and crying.”

Ram, 26, and her mother were buried by rubble when the earthquake hit. Her father couldn’t get them out, but finally, her brother was able to dig them free. She’s shaken, but happy that all of her family is alive.

“The top two storeys of our house collapsed after the very first tremor. My mother and I were instantly trapped. It was so fast I can’t even describe it. I don’t have many scratches on my body but it hurts. I have a lot of back pain.”

A crew of neighbours dig through the rubble to try and salvage any of the family’s valuable belongings. “I’m happy to be alive but so devastated our house is gone,” Ram says. “At this moment I’m totally blind to the future. I’m just thinking about whether we can ever rebuild our house.”