#WeHelpNepal

As the immediate emergency response continues across Nepal, we're beginning to look toward what comes next.

Getting food, medicine, and basic supplies to people cut off by the floods remains urgent. But as the days pass, another need becomes increasingly clear: shelter that lasts longer than a tent.

In Belkotgadhi Municipality, 600 families have been affected by the floods and landslides — 65 lost everything, 150 were displaced from their homes, and the rest lost businesses or the family member who was their breadwinner. Over 200 of these families are staying with relatives or crowded into "holding centers" — a school building, a police building, a school dormitory, a church — with no end date for how long they'll be there.

That's why we're excited to announce our newest project: Helter Shelter.

BUILDING A BRIDGE TO PERMANENT HOUSING

Working directly with Jagat Bahadur Gurung, Mayor of Belkotgadhi Municipality, and coordinated on the ground by Kishor Lohani, we're providing semi-permanent shelter kits — 6 meter by 4 meter, two-room units — to the 20 neediest families within the next week, with plans to expand to another 20 if we can raise enough funds.

Each shelter kit includes:

• A semi-permanent structure built from fully reusable materials, so nothing is wasted once families move to permanent housing
• A bathroom stall and wash station for basic sanitation and dignity
• A metal storage locker to secure whatever belongings families were able to salvage

The families themselves and local volunteers are providing the labor. A local community organization is supplying bedding and basic furniture, the local government is providing free use of a backhoe to dig foundation holes and toilet pits, and the cooking equipment We Help Nepal already donated will serve the new kitchens.

WHY HELTER SHELTER?

The first 20 shelters are going to families from the Rai ethnic group — among the most impoverished of those displaced, having lost everything. Some have small plots of land to build on; others will be settled on government land, having nowhere else to go.

Learn more about Helter Shelter and donate directly:

Learn More

We're grateful to everyone who has already supported #WeHelpNepal. Your contributions give us the flexibility to respond to what people actually need as this situation unfolds.

We'll continue sharing updates as the first shelters go up.

Thank you for helping us fill the gaps.