In 2015 Nepal was hit by a devastating Earthquake which cost the lives over of 8,000 people and reduced much of the country to rubble. Since the Earthquake charities such as Action Aid having being supporting Nepal in the
rebuild effort. During 2017 Wendover House has been raising money for the charity Action Aid, to support the charity in rebuilding a school block that collapsed during the Earthquake in a rural area of Nepal. Due to Nepal being on a major fault line the chances of another earthquake are significantly high and all new buildings require deeper foundations to prevent future collapse.
Elaine Ashmore the Registered Home Manager at Wendover House, volunteered to be part of the project and spent the previous year fundraising towards it. Elaine successfully raised £2,999 and visited Nepal in 2017 to take part in the project. The money was raised by a number of small projects such as coffee mornings, raffles, cake scales and sweepstakes. While in Nepal Elaine spent time digging foundations, reclaiming bricks and moving materials along with a team of 28 people from the UK, Spain and France.
In addition to getting physically involved in the building project, Elaine also met with students at the school who discussed their lives in Nepal and their aspirations for the future, some of the girls explained that they would like to become teachers and social workers to help others. Elaine also met with a women’s support group that had come together to great a safe place after the initial Earthquake, with support from Action Aid the women were able to establish
a permanent women support centre in a nearby village. Elaine took a number of donations with her on the project including school supplies collected by Wendover and Magnolia House and Dignity kits made by Kimber House.