SHO Emergency relief and rehabilitation support for Nepal SUMMARY 
In April 2015 a massive earthquake struck Nepal, 77 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu. Over 7,500 people died and more than 14,000 were injured. Although Plan was already active in Nepal at the time, this was mostly in areas that were not affected by the earthquake. After carrying out a rapid needs assessment, Plan quickly started working in Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha, two of the 14 most affected districts. In these areas, water systems had been damaged and people didn’t have access to clean and safe drinking water. Children’s lives were changed dramatically, some were separated from their families, others were injured or deeply traumatised. This project is focusing on child protection and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), targeting the children who are affected and their families. Plan Nepal is implementing the project with its local partners. The project started 1 May 2015 and will run till 30 April, 2017. The earthquake caused many problems in Nepal. 
 -During the earthquake many of the water transportation systems in the rural areas of the country were either partially or completely destroyed. These systems, many of which were more than 25 years old, transported clean drinking water from natural sources in the mountains to the villages, which relied on them. 
-The earthquake damaged many latrines (toilets). Without them, many villagers were forced to urinate and defecate in the open. In addition to causing diseases, this also exposed these villagers to potential harm, due to snakebites or other hazards, for example. 
-Many children lost their loved ones during the earthquake, or were severely traumatised in other ways. Schools were also destroyed, meaning children could not continue their education.
-Natural disasters like this one often cause an increase in child trafficking. This was also the case in Nepal. 
-After the earthquake, adolescents did not have enough access to hygiene materials. This project focuses on WASH and Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) interventions. By providing the necessary facilities, materials and education, the WASH intervention will prevent the spread of illnesses from excrement contamination among the people affected by the earthquake. This is being achieved by: 
-	repairing water systems, or schemes, that are slightly or extensively damaged;
-	repairing family toilets together with the restoration of these water schemes; 
-	providing shared toilets for temporary settlements;
-	providing access to hygiene materials and information.
After these activities are carried out, people will have access to clean and safe drinking water, as well as to toilets. The importance of the latter should not be underestimated because open defecation increases the spread of diseases. But only providing and repairing water schemes and toilets are not enough; people must also be taught how to maintain them and how to adopt good hygiene practices. 

The CPiE intervention will provide a safe environment for children. This will be achieved by: 
-providing access to improved psycho-social support and child-protection services for girls and boys;
-providing access to multi-sectoral services (such as anti-trafficking booths) and support for children who are at risk;
- strengthening and supporting community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs). 
Both these interventions will address the internal, psycho-social wellbeing of children, as well as their external living environment. They will then learn how to deal with their trauma in a safe environment, without needing to fear being trafficked. Although Plan has been working in Nepal for the past 38 years, this was not in these specific target areas. Therefore, prior to the earthquake, there were no Plan interventions on which to build. The end beneficiaries of the project are children, particularly girls. And thanks to improved water and sanitary provisions, the families of the children and other community members will also benefit. The project’s main activities per intervention, and broken down into their respective component parts, are given below for both the WASH and the CPiE interventions.

1. WASH
The restoration of water schemes, that had incurred either minor or major damage, comprised the following activities:
- consulting with the Water and Sanitation Users Committee (WSUC), the Village Development Committee (VDC) and the Village WASH Coordination Committee (VWASHCC);
- assessing damaged water and sanitation schemes, jointly done by Plan and its partner;
- preparing a detailed plan and estimate for repairs, carried out by the partner and with technical oversight by the Plan WASH coordinator;
- providing support and materials (pipes, fittings, etc.) to repair minor damage identified in the water schemes, managed by WSUC with technical support from the partner;
- repairing water supply schemes, managed by WSUC, with technical support provided by the partner;
- reorienting the WSUCs on operation and maintenance.
The repair of family toilets, together with the repair of community water schemes, comprised the following activities:
- providing the necessary training and instructions  for sanitation and hygiene promoters;
- organising re-triggering sessions to promote community leadership in collective improvement efforts;
- providing essential materials to repair damaged toilets for an estimated 25 per cent of households in the catchment areas of 22 WSUCs (whereby one WSUCs covers approximately 200 households;
- conducting a toilet repair day, organised and led by the WSUC and monitored by the partner.

Organising the shared toilets for the temporary settlements comprised the following activities:
- coordinating with the VWASHCs, to reach agreement on the selection criteria and other processes;
- planning and agreement with local partners, communities and CBOs about triggering and re-triggering in the communities (triggering is raising awareness in the communities);
- providing support materials (toilet pans, piping and other materials), to be managed by the VWASHCCs, for approximately 25 per cent of the households in 11 VDCs;
- conducting a toilet repair day, led by the WSUC in conjunction with the VWASHCC.

Providing the necessary access to hygiene materials and information comprised the following activities:
-       providing training in emergency sanitation for community mobilisers (social 
        workers);
-	providing instructions on the proper dosage and use of water-treatment materials;
-	promoting good hygiene in temporary learning spaces;
-	promoting good hygiene among community groups;
-	distributing basic hygiene materials;
-	pre-stocking hygiene materials;
-	distributing the necessary materials to ensure menstrual hygiene.

2. Child protection: 
Providing the necessary access to improved psycho-social support and child-protection services for girls and boys comprised the following activities: 
- equipping 16 Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) with psycho-social, learning and recreational materials in Dolhaka;
- equipping 28 mobile outreach teams in Sindupakchok and Dolakha with what they need to provide psycho-social support in remote locations;
- equipping 208 community mobilisers with what they need to provide psycho-social support, protection, prevention and response to children’s-rights offenders
- transforming eight CFS into child-protection and care centres;
- making it possible for girls and boys to benefit from psycho-social, life-skills and protection activities;
- providing support sessions for parents and caregivers (male and female) so that they can give adequate support, care and protection to the children in their care;
- giving girls and boys personal development kits.

Giving access to multi-sector services and support to girls and boys who are at risk, comprised the following activities:
- providing life-saving information and support through 16 community-based helpdesks;
- establishing an anti-trafficking monitoring booth at the border;
- providing adolescent girls with the essential hygiene supplies (dignity kits).

Strengthening and supporting the CBCPMs comprised the following activities: 
- supporting and strengthening Village Child Protection Committees and children’s/youth clubs;
- arranging awareness-raising activities for community members  about child-protection issues;
- providing the appropriate support services to girls and boys identified by the CBCPMs as being at risk. To supply water to the affected villages, water schemes must be restored. And once they are restored they will provide water for those villages for many years. The restoration of these water schemes is being driven by the communities and local governments, and local administrators are also being included in the process. So while Plan is funding these restoration schemes, they are being carried out with the support of the communities, making them feel like the ‘owners’ of the process. And the same goes for the latrines. 

The CFS are temporary structures made from materials that last for just a few seasons. They were set up for six months to provide the necessary services directly after the earthquake. After six months they were transformed into Temporary Learning Centers (TLC). These are now being used for various purposes, such as hosting Children Village Development Meetings.

Plan is working with local organisations, which are implementing the projects. An important part of working with these organisations is building up their capacity. Many of them do not yet have the capability of implementing programmes in accordance with international standards, so Plan is building up their capacity to do so. When Plan leaves, these local organisations will be able to take over the projects.