As Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Asha Koirala has been criticizing INGOs for their role and threatening to tighten their noose, INGOs working in Nepal have shown that their programs are effective and efficient and directed to the people.

Compared to the government institutions, INGOs and NGOs are more efficient to launch the programs in all sectors. Whether it is in the case of earthquake reconstruction or rescue and relief operation of flood affected people, INGOs and NGOs are the first to reach them.

INGOs have been leading the reconstruction of earthquake resilient buildings. They have also played a crucial role in the recent flood in terms of distribution of relief materials and support to build the temporary shelters.

Earthquake Reconstruction

At a time a large number of people are yet to apply to secure the second and third installments under the private housing grants, INGOs have already handed over more than 3000 houses to the victims.

Take the case of Mira Mijar, 18, a student of class 11 of formerly Mahdevsthan Village Development Committee, Ward No. 3, which is now Ward No. 9 of Madan Deupur Municipality. With support from Lutheran World Federation, her family has moved to a newly built 3-room home.  

For Mijar, a young girl from a Dalit community, this is definitely a reason to rejoice. After spending two and half tedious years in a narrow temporary shelter with small space, she is finally in a spacious house with attached solar panel and toilet.

“The new house is like a haven, big for us. The old shelter was a kitchen. This 3-room house provides us enough space for us, the six members in the family,” said young Mijar, who faced so much hardship before coming here.

Mijar is not alone to get the house built under Lutheran World Federation Nepal, an INGO working to reconstruct the house under the 'build better' program of NRA. Many other marginalized, poor and indigenous families in Kavrepalanchwok district have their own new earthquake resilient houses. Lutheran World Federation has already handed over 200 houses in Rasuwa.

Similarly, other two dozen INGOs, including Save the Children Fund, have also handed over houses to the people. However, ministers, secretaries and other high level politicians do not mind blaming the INGOs for slow progress.

INGOs Construction

According to the recent data published by the NRA portal, out of 5432 houses, which received the third installment and are at the final stage of completion, 3914 houses are under INGOs.

According to the report, in Sindhupalchwok INGO has completed  has 438 and Government 130 and INGO has completed 519 in Nuwakot 241,550 in Ramechhap,550 in  Dolakha. Similarly, INGOs has complted 442 Rauswa, 400 in Kavrepalanchwok ,  602 in Makwanpur 602,182 in Sindhuli and 272 in Lalitpur.

Similarly, INGOs have also made hundred percent progresses in the distribution of second installment. According to the data, those who received the second installment include Sindhupalchwok 1359, Nuwakot 957, Ramechhap 576, Dolakha 1079, Kavre 434, Rasuwa 590, Sindhuli 453, Makwanpur 825 and Lalitpur 441. Out of first installment distributed to 600543, INGOs have over 12500.

Initially, the government and NRA did not allow INGOs and NGOs to massively involve themselves in the reconstruction with so many terms and conditions for them arguing that they did not want a repeat of Haiti in Nepal. Almost after three years of reconstruction, what results show is that the reconstruction would have been more effective if NRA, elected local bodies and INGOs had worked side by sides.

Providing the support in materials and the contributions of family in reconstruction, INGOs are able to achieve the success. From technical to material support, INGOs supervise all construction activities. However, NRA provides the support in cash. With the high fluctuations in the prices of materials, the cash is too little.

Lutheran World Federation’s support in materials is helping the beneficiaries because they need not to worry about the price with supply of building construction materials coming in time.

The recent experiences have shown that NRA and INGOs and elected local bodies need to work together to achieve the target to build earthquake resilient houses in time.