A SCOTTISH volunteer working in Nepal has urged the world to keep helping the country as it recovers from the devastation of last year’s earthquakes.

On the anniversary of the second earthquake yesterday David Paterson from Uplawmoor said that while the Nepali people were resilient, the damage caused by the tremors was so great that recovery had only just begun.

Over 8,000 people died and more than 21,000 were injured in the earthquakes while entire villages were reduced to rubble, roads crumbled and water supplies were cut off. “I watched the images of devastation in the aftermath of the earthquake last year with a feeling of both horror and helplessness,” said the 23-year-old. “The opportunity to work with locals to rebuild and develop their country, as part of the International Citizen Service programme, has allowed me to play a very small part in providing support to Nepal when it needs it most.”

He became a volunteer in the Makwanpur district of Nepal through the Department for International Development (DFID) funded ICS programme which sends young people on placements to work on development projects overseas.

There he works on a water, sanitation and hygiene project with NGO Raleigh International.

“The Nepali people are resilient and will only be strengthened by the experience, but it is also important that the world does not turn its back on the country while the first shoots of recovery are still in their infancy,” said Paterson who is returning to Scotland this month and hopes to begin a Masters programme in International Development in September 2016.

WHY SHOULD SCOTLAND BE PROUD?

Paterson is just one of the Scots who have been helping Nepal’s recovery process through ICS development projects.

Other Scots who have helped in the aftermath of the earthquakes include a team of Scottish firefighters who were part of the UK’s International Search and Rescue Operation and Scottish medics who joined the highly skilled UK emergency medical team deployed in the immediate aftermath.

Scottish charity Mercy Corps, with DFID funding, provided life saving emergency aid to people affected by the earthquake including the provision of relief kits to over 14,500 people in need. Mercy Corps continues to work in partnership with DFID on a number of programmes in Nepal to help reduce poverty and promote economic development.

“Scotland can be proud of the vital contribution its highly-skilled health workers, firefighters and volunteers from across the country made to the UK’s response in Nepal,” said the UK Government’s International Development Minister Des Swayne this week. “Following last year’s devastating earthquakes the UK as a whole has played a leading role in delivering life-saving aid to the Nepali people.

“Our long standing 200-year old friendship also showed through in the British public’s hugely generous response to the emergency appeal which the UK Government match-funded. It meant we were able to quickly reach the Nepali people with essential supplies.”

The DFID has been one of the largest bilateral donors throughout both the immediate response phase and the aftermath with a total commitment of £70 million to the earthquake relief effort.

WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO NOW?

Until July 18, the UK Government is matching public donations pound for pound to Handicap International’s “Every Step Counts” appeal to help thousands of people living with disabilities access rehabilitation services and get back into education and jobs.

Eight year old Nirmala is one of the Nepali children being helped by Handicap International.

After losing her right leg following the earthquake which struck Nepal in April last year she underwent a long period of rehabilitation with the support of Handicap International physiotherapists. Today, she is walking again on her prosthetic leg and obsessed with just one thing: becoming an actress.

The little girl lost her leg after a wall fell on her during the earthquake. Neighbours pulled her out and she was rushed to the trauma centre in Bir hospital, Kathmandu. which was in chaos.

Nirmala was among the first earthquake survivors to undergo a life-saving amputation that day. She was only seven at the time.

In hospital, she met Khembro, a six-year-old girl who also lost her leg in the earthquake. The two soon became saathi (friends) and have helped each other through the rehabilitation process.

“They have made great progress. Nirmala gives Khembro confidence and never backs down from a challenge. They have a deep friendship and it is helping with the rehabilitation process,” said physiotherapist Sudan Rimal.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE?

After eight months of rehabilitation with Handicap International staff, first at Bir hospital and then with local partner, the National Disabled Fund, Nirmala and Khembro took their very first steps on their new prosthetic legs.

The girls have now been able to move with their families into a basic apartment in Kathmandu as Nirmala’s parents have decided not to return to their village six hours’ drive from the capital. There Nirmala would have struggled to access the ongoing rehabilitation care she needs and daily life would have been difficult.

Her parents have now set up a sewing workshop in Kathmandu.

Her mother Hum Devi said: “We want her to be able to study and one day get a job that will give her an income to live on”.

Nirmala added cheerfully: “I’m going to be an actress!”