In the Kapilvastu district of Nepal, the rural municipalities of Bijayanagar and Yashodhara face recurring climate-related emergencies: floods, droughts, and wildfires. To address these challenges, the disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiative led by Karuna-Shechen is implementing a preparedness strategy focused on prevention and early warning for more than 20,000 people. This strategy is based on a collaborative, three-tiered approach involving schools, communities, and local governments.
Risks that repeat every year
Farming households face a continuous series of climatic and environmental hazards:
During the monsoon season, overflowing rivers and canals flood homes, schools, and crops, and often lead to epidemics.
As soon as the rains stop, drought sets in: water shortages cause yields and incomes to plummet, while fires spread rapidly through densely populated villages.
In addition, there are other recurring threats: storms, lightning, extreme temperatures (heat or cold), crop pests, and conflicts with wildlife.
Awareness starts in the classroom
In response, this initiative works directly within classrooms to integrate risk prevention into daily life:
- Currently, thirteen schools are developing or updating their safety plans, and their school staff and safety officers are being trained in emergency procedures.
- Training on hygiene, safety, and waste management is provided to the entire educational community (students, teachers, and parents)
- Child clubs, for their part, are receiving leadership training on climate issues.
- Activities such as tree planting, quiz contests, and public speaking contests are also being organized.
Empowering Communities
Residents are taking the lead in ensuring their own safety. Through the project, 32 disaster management groups (totaling 741 people) have already been trained to respond to fires and extreme temperatures, including heat waves and cold snaps.
To ensure this impact is sustainable, local facilitators are being trained to pass on these skills to future generations. At the same time, on-the-ground assessments are being conducted in each neighborhood to pinpoint the exact sources of major risks.
Communities already understand their own risks better than anyone. Our role is to help them turn that understanding into a plan they can act on. – The project team
The Long-Term Commitment of Local Communities
Both municipalities have now officially adopted their five-year disaster prevention and climate change adaptation plans, developed in collaboration with all local stakeholders (leaders, health volunteers, teachers, and marginalized community members).
Karuna-Shechen is now working on the ground to support these communities in implementing the plans they previously developed with external support, such as that provided by UNICEF in Bijayanagar and by Transform Aid International and Australian Aid in Yashodhara. Led and endorsed by local governments, these initiatives are designed for the long term.
Next steps
A baseline survey of 255 community members, most of them women, has given the project a clear starting point to measure progress against. It has not all been easy: finding suitable venues for meetings, working around farming and wage-labour schedules, and extreme weather have all slowed activities at times. But the lesson from the first phase is a simple one: Disaster Risk Reduction only works when communities lead it, and when local government backs it.
In its second phase, the project will address more technical aspects: the implementation of early warning systems, flood management, lightning protection, drought mitigation, and hygiene awareness.
Through the development of informational materials and ongoing coordination with local authorities, the goal is for every community to know exactly how to respond well before the next flood, fire, or storm strikes.