Bhukhampa Nepal, photo essay by Jan Møller Hansen
Nepal was hit by two strong earthquakes on 25. April and 12. May 2015 and during the following months by hundreds of aftershocks. 14 hilly and mountainous districts in the central northern parts of Nepal were heavily affected. Some 9000 people were killed and 22,000 injured. Half a million homes and buildings were destroyed or partly damaged. Many villages and living quarters were leveled to the ground. Many children were traumatised from the events.
In the weeks and months after the earthquakes, families, neighbours and friends were helping each other to cope with the disaster. Moral and financial support was pouring in from abroad from donors, civil society organisations, the Nepali diaspora and private companies. Nepal received a lot of sympathy from the international community and private persons.
One and a half year after the devastating earthquakes many people have still not received the expected assistance from the Government of Nepal and other agencies. The humanitarian work and reconstruction were seriously delayed due to politics and bureaucracy and thousands of families have since been struggling in the affected districts. Much of the funding committed to the humanitarian work and reconstruction might never be used. Reconstruction has picked-up one year after the disaster, but there is still a long way to go before people and the lives are fully restored to normal.
The images in the series are taken during the year that followed the earthquakes.
(Jan Møller Hansen is a self-taught and international award-winning photographer. He lived in Nepal 2013-2016 and speaks Nepali.)
