On April 25 and May 12, 2015, two earthquakes devastated the country of Nepal.

Three years later…

… in memory of the nearly 9000 people who were killed;

… in prayer for the 25,000 injured and hundreds of thousands left homeless, as they are slowly rebuilding their lives and homes;

… in thankfulness to those who gave generously to OGHS Nepal Earthquake Relief fund in 2015;

… in honor of the those who have made a difference through these funds in the lives of the Nepalis,

I’m sharing with you pictures and stories of changed lives of those specifically living in the village of Manikhel.

The MCDS staff paved the way in bringing hope to this village in a variety of ways through the project’s various programs of reconstruction, training, and capacity building for the community:

A family of five whose home was completely destroyed now has a newly constructed safe house with, for the first time, an outdoor toilet. 17 out of the 20 homes in this remote village were reconstructed as per government regulations;

A homeless family, finally able to purchase a small piece of land in this village, now has a house in which to live;

Two families of ten persons, living in one home, whose damaged home didn’t meet the government’s criteria for rebuilding, received 2 goats, 2 water buffalo, and training in agriculture and shed management for their new livestock. Now they know more adequately how to care for these animals. They can more efficiently and effectively grow more crops for their food;

A family of seven, who lost their home and all their belongings, lived in a tin roof shed for 1 ½ years now live in this three room house. Construction took 11 months because local labor was hard to find;

 A self-help group for agriculture, supported by trainings for group management and leadership development, and book-keeping and accounting, are managing their own financial cooperative. This allows borrowing money for investing in their own farms and paying back the loan with a small interest. Why are there mostly women in this group, you may ask. Husbands may have other jobs, but it is the women who are responsible for the fields.

Even though reconstruction continues in other places in the country,

this completed program of the MCDS project in Manikhel has brought hope to this isolated community.

I am proud of these servants, the MCDS Staff of this project, who have worked faithfully to be a light of the world to this community.

Jesus said, 

May you be encouraged by these stories and be the light of the world in the community in which you live and minister.

Thank you for your faithful praying for and giving to me,

Carole