THE Beaminster couple whose VSO placement in Nepal saw them at the centre of devastating earthquakes are still busy helping communities get back on their feet..

Simon Hill has been busy helping Nepal's milk producing industry be more sustainable through improved milk quality and wife Judith has been visiting remote mountain village schools which need rebuilding.

Both have found a resilient people facing enormous challenges five months after the earthquakes hit.

In a recent visit to Kathmandu Simon saw for himself how much is still left to do.

He said: “The end of the after shocks has been marked by the removal of most emergency aid tents. Many not so official structures remain where families live out their daily lives, and the future looks grim.

“The biggest areas of tents are now on the city’s outskirts, where at least the flood risk bought by the monsoon rains is receding.

“The nose dive in tourism has come with devastating effects. The tourist industry is as one of the top three currency earners for Nepal. Livelihoods such as home-stays, tea houses, trek guides, and all the associated support structures are having a torrid time. Judging by the empty tourist buses here in the city, and a nationwide fuel strike that just began, things will not improve any time soon.

“The markets for agricultural produce were all but destroyed by the mass migrations from the city, during the earthquake’s aftermath.

“This is slowly reversing with increases in the consumption of vegetables, milk and meat." Early one morning not long after the quake, whilst walking through the narrow once crowded streets of Patan, I managed to track down the source of some freshly slaughtered meat. I briefly chatted to the owner. Before the quake he was driving ten buffalo each day from an out of town sorting and marketing area, through the streets to his slaughtering yard. That daily demand of ten fell to two as his customers either fled the city or lost their appetites.”

Judith has been to the village of Khache, high up on a hill surrounded by dense jungle, visiting a little village school.

She said: “This little community certainly needs some help.

“A short term project has been set up to build semi-permanent classrooms in damaged schools and provide teacher training, learning resources and psycho-social support.

“There will be some challenges here. One significant one is access. At the moment the little track is inaccessible for the tractor that we will hire to carry the material.

“The climb of two to three hours from the river below would be a huge problem for transporting the steel frame and roofing materials.

“In a month’s time it might be possible, when the worst of the monsoon is over and the locals can fill in the ruts and remove landslide debris.

"I am so impressed with this school community and its resilience. While many people have been slow to make their schools safe from potential falling stones this Tamang village has gone one step further. This was a two storey building. They have taken the top floor down, lowered the roof and filled in the holes with mud plaster. This has made a safe, if tiny, space to continue with school activities.”