Soon after the earthquake last spring, Friends of Nepal donated $6000 to the Nepali NGO Phul Maya for emergency earthquake relief. They have recently contacted us to tell us how they used our donation.
In the immediate aftermath of the quake, Phul Maya distributed tarps in mountain villages badly damaged by the quake. Most of the families were Tamang and Magar subsistence farmers. Aid was slow in reaching these villages because the roads, difficult to traverse at any time, were badly damaged by the quake.
Phul Maya located high-quality tarps in India and Thailand and shipped them to Nepal. In each village, small teams of local people were appointed to organize a fair distribution. To avoid fraud, every tarp recipient had to register and sign a receipt.
Phul Maya distributed 18,330 tarps and 450 solar lamps (using funding from both Friends of Nepal and other sources). Each tarp was enough for 10 people, so their eamergency tarp distribution program provided shelter for over 180,000 people.
