In April 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal and one
of the worst hit regions was Sindupalchowk, northwest of the capital city
Kathmandu.

In the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, a total of 10000
people died, 23000 people were injured and 8000 schools were damaged or
destroyed.

After the earthquake infrastructure, homes and schools were
destroyed over a large area, and most of the buildings in the village of Thlulo
Pakhar, the village where we are based, have yet to be rebuilt.

Even more than 2 years on only 2000 of the 8000 schools
damaged by the earthquake have received aid – there is still years more work
ahead.

As a charity, All Hands Volunteers assesses, responds and
rebuilds after natural disasters all over the world, and has completed various
projects in 5 continents, totalling over 1.2 million volunteer hours. All Hands
has also recently won an award from the National VOAD (National Voluntary Organisations
Active In Disaster) for being the best non-profit disaster organisation based
in the United States.

All Hands has been in the village of Thulo Pakhar,
Sindupalchowk since January 2016, and have recently completed 5 other projects
in neighbouring regions in Nepal, totalling 5 brand new school buildings and 2
retrofits, and 5 toilet and hygiene projects, as well as 75 earthquake
resistant  temporary homes.

I have been mainly working in a school building site near
Thulo Pakhar named Chamuna, where we are building 2 new school buildings,
retrofitting one, and building a toilet and sanitation block. If we manage to
complete the project early we may also be work on smaller individual projects
in villages worst affected by the earthquake.

We also have a large community led program where we involve
the local people as much as possible in prioritising their needs, we have formed
a local council so that everyone can have a say on local issues regardless of
gender or age, and set up a training program for unskilled masons, 4 of whom
are women from our local village who were particularly badly affected by the
earthquake.

In the 7 weeks I have been here I have seen progress in the
village, shops and homes being rebuilt, people slowly returning to a normal lifestyle,
but most people are still living in houses made of corrugated iron. The warmth
and friendly nature of the local people still trying to overcome such a
disaster is inspiring but work and repair never stops -  one of the masons had to leave work early last
week to repair their temporary house after a storm blew the tin roof off.  

In Nepal a little money goes a long way – 10 US Dollars buys
us 50 bricks, and 15000 bricks are needed for a completed school building.
Every small donation on this page has a huge effect in the ability to complete
schools and for the longevity of the All Hands project in Nepal.

From my 7 weeks experience on base All Hands seems to be a
very effective charity, constantly adjusting to the needs of the local people and
environment, striving for efficiency, and doing the difficult balancing act of
trying to keep volunteers happy an getting the most from them!

I have never volunteered for a charity before, and would only
ever ask friends for money for charity if I really believed it would make a
difference and be well spent where it needs to be, all the money donated
through this page goes straight to a fund for the project site I am working on
in Nepal.