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Present in Nepal for 15 years, Handicap International was able to launch an immediate response to the devastating earthquake that struck the country on 25th April 2015. Taking advantage of advance preparations for natural disasters in the country, we were also able to draw on our expertise in providing care and treatment to earthquake victims.

More than 8,700 people were killed and over 22,000 injured when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on 25th April 2015. Handicap International launched an immediate relief effort to help the most vulnerable individuals. One year on, we continue to supply aid to earthquake victims.
 

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador on the evening of Saturday 16th April. On 20th April, 587 people were reported to have been killed and more than 8,000 injured. According to the United Nations, more than one million people (of a population of around 16 million) may have been affected. The country has suffered considerable material damage and it is not possible to access entire areas of the North West.

High in the Kathmandu Valley, Uma and her family are rebuilding their lives step by step following the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Their family home was destroyed in the disaster and Uma lost her leg. But after learning to walk again, the young woman is determined to support other people with disabilities.

After losing both legs in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Ramesh Kitra has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement for the other young amputees in the rehabilitation centre. Even before he was fitted with prosthetic legs, Ramesh was active, learning wheelchair tricks and taking part in a race in Kathmandu.

Handicap International, with UNICEF's support, led a vast awareness-raising campaign in schools on the risks of mines and explosive remnants of war. The campaign took place near the front line where the Ukrainian army is fighting the pro-Russian militia, between October 2015 and February 2016. Over 5,600 children aged from 6 to 18 received risk education.

Since January 2016, Handicap International has repaired airstrips across the Central African Republic. Implemented in conjunction with humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations and NGOs, this initiative aims at improving the distribution of humanitarian aid to the country’s most isolated regions.

Kenya has announced plans to close the refugee camps on its territory and to rapidly repatriate refugees who, in some cases, have lived in the camps for over 20 years. A collective of 11 NGOs, including Handicap International, have signed a joint statement reminding the Kenyan government of its obligation towards the refugees.

Erika Trabucco is one of Handicap International’s reconstruction and building accessibility specialists. An architect by training, from March 2015 to April 2016, she worked for Handicap International in Gaza to rebuild a hospital specialised in the care and treatment of people with disabilities and to improve the accessibility of public buildings for people with disabilities.

Handicap International is preparing to launch a response in aid of the most vulnerable individuals affected by flooding and landslides in Sri Lanka, which was hit by Cyclone Roanu on 15th May.

Five-year-old Malak is a curious and independent child who likes nothing more than walking round the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan with her father Houdey. But in December 2015 she was at home in Syria with her brother and sisters when the room they were in took a direct hit during an air strike.

Handicap International has started up mine clearance operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Starting in June 2016, the organisation and its local partner AFRILAM will clear a 50,000 metre squared plot of land, the equivalent of eight football pitches, located around 15 kilometres from Kinsagani, the main city in the province of Tshopo in the north-east of the country.
 

Moussifa was born in 2007 in Togo. Long deprived of a primary education because of her hearing impairment and difficult family situation, she has finally been enrolled in school thanks to Handicap International, who intervened with the educational authorities in Togo on her behalf. She now attends a second-year primary school class (almost) like any other.

Saadi was forced to flee his hometown in Iraq after it fell into the hands of the Islamic State group. Months later, the armed group retreated from his region and Saadi returned to check on his house. The instant he opened the front door, a bomb exploded, leaving him seriously injured. Today, Saadi and his family are trying to recover from this traumatic event with help from Handicap International.