Dolma | tamberger

Sheltering Nepal’s most vulnerable

feel an urge to talk to her before we go. My colleague tells me her name is Dolma, and that she’s deaf. I approach her, hoping to communicate my care. The shack where she sits is on a slope; it is held upright with reeds, bamboo, and plastic bags. I hope it houses animals but I don’t see any livestock around.

The day the earth shook

I approach Dolma and she welcomes me into the shack. The single room holds a mat, a bed, and clothes piled on a plastic sheet. It is smoky from the fire burning inside and simultaneously damp from the leaking roof. She holds my hand and sits with me in what I now realize is her home. Before the earthquake, she and her husband Sarmalal lived in a small house. When the quake destroyed it, they moved into their animal shed.

The day the earth shook

While neighbors rebuilt their houses, the elderly couple sat nearby and begged for help. Although Medair offered to assist them, Sarmalal was afraid at first to invest their small savings in construction, which was required. Instead he and Dolma kept watching as others rebuilt their homes. She imagined them living in that damp, smoky shed until they died.

Old but not forgotten

Since this story was written, Dolma and Sarmalal have moved into their completed earthquake-resilient home near their son, Biju, who helped build it alongside other Medair-trained masons. The elderly couple now have a safe place to call home. Thank you for making this possible.