Nepal on Sunday marked the 1st anniversary of a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and left millions homeless. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli held a ceremony laying a wreath at the ruins of the historic Dharahara tower in the heart of the capital Kathmandu on April 25 to mark the anniversary. Minor protests were also held, with demonstrators angry at the slow rate of reconstruction in the wake of the 7.8-magnitude quake that destroyed more than 600,000 homes and damaged around 185,000 in the poor Himalayan nation where some 25% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Soon after disaster struck last year on April 25, among the numerous organizations and agencies that swung into action was Caritas Nepal, the relief, development and social service organization of the Catholic Church in the country. Caritas Nepal is a member of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of over 160 similar Catholic organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. To commemorate the earthquake anniversary, Caritas Nepal organized a conference in Kathmandu, April 25-28, with its partners, to assess the progress made and plan future strategies. Well, we managed to catch up with Fr. Silas Bogati, the Executive Director of Caritas Nepal, to know about the Caritas’ work. Speaking on the phone from Kathmandu, Fr. Silas first gave us this update.
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