A Field Report From Assistant Director Tim Kurth In Nepal:

Yesterday was full of planning, hope and promise! Together with Director Udaya, I walked the grounds of the Nepal School of Engineering. There we saw students sharing their designs for inexpensive temporary housing. These shelters can be sourced locally and put up quickly and easily by volunteers or paid workers with almost no experience. This will be essential work since some estimates state these temporary structures will become homes to tens of thousands of people for two to five years – maybe longer – while the Nepali government decides how to rebuild permanently.

Today I met with Shyam, who owns a brick factory in Harisiddi. The very top of the factory’s chimney fell (literally) victim to the quake but the factory is still operational. We talked about how his bricks might be incorporated into temporary housing for ServLife communities.

Director Lazarus and I decided to do a test run on the temporary home design to see if we can set up an entire community for an affordable price. We settled on Pastor Kamal’s community in Ramechap District as our first test. His entire village was destroyed and, worse, is located under unstable rock so all 44 families have had to completely relocate.

We plan to buy homes for the entire village plus a community center for meetings. The homes can be erected in 2-4 hours and provide secure shelter and a solar panel for electricity. The total cost will be about $22,000, with the cost of each unit at $500. We met with the leader of the team that designed the house and he says he can have 44 units ready for delivery by the end of next week, and they can be delivered using only two trucks. The UN World Food Program is handling delivery logistics. ServLife is perfectly positioned through our partnerships to rebuild communities. I am very excited about moving forward.

Pray for Nepal.