In March 2021 a forest fire broke out in Rolpa district, and within a few days it destroyed 37 homes and 11 cow sheds across six rural villages.

INF Nepal together with Asal Chhimekee Nepal (ACN) responded to a request from the local government for support. With help from INF/UK, 21 families were given materials to help repair their homes.

Fifteen households have already used these materials to repair their homes, while the other six have used the corrugated metal sheets to make temporary shelters.

The house pictured above with its new roof belongs to Puspa Gharti, who lives in the village of Pirale with her husband and two children.

She said: “The fire destroyed 21 houses in our village. We lost all our food, clothes, three goats and a sheep. We spent the whole night under the open sky without any food to eat. After two days, we made a small tent and stayed there.

“INF came to our village and they provided corrugated iron sheets and roofing nails so that we could repair the destroyed houses and go back to living in our homes. Now we are living there safely, and I am very thankful to INF for supporting me.”