by Nirmala Carvalho

The quake might have compromised the pregnancy of some 50,000 women. Women and children are the most affected by the tragedy. Some students “are inconsolable because they lost their home." Catholic buildings withstood better the quake. In a display of generosity, neighbours helped nuns.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – "At least 50,000 pregnant women could be affected by the quake. Children may be born deformed, with cerebral palsy or other conditions,” said Sister Stella Davis who spoke to AsiaNews about the fate of women in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April killing 8,700 people and injuring an additional 17,000.

Sister Stella belongs to the Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod and teaches at the Jesuit-run St Xavier High School in Kathmandu. She also runs a shelter for women and children, who lost the most in the tragedy.

Some of the students who go to her school are still living in tents or with relatives, Sister Stella said. "Some are inconsolable because they lost their home. They feel uncomfortable, insecure and vulnerable. Most of them lost books and personal effects during the earthquake." Still, life at the school is getting back to normal.

For Nepalis, life is still one of fear; many continue to feel unsafe. "Now for them, the main problem is access to uncontaminated food and water and safe shelters, particularly in rural areas,” the nun said. “In the shelter I run, we are focusing on migrant women who are homeless or living in slums”.

Sister Stella’s religious community is in Kathmandhu’s Pashupathi district, which takes its name from the Pashupatinath temple, the country’s largest Hindu temple, which was heavily damaged by the quake.

Right after the earthquake, the sisters rushed into the chapel to see if everything was alright. "We went inside the chapel in a panic. But when we saw that the tabernacle and Mary’s statue had not moved even one centimetre we rejoiced. This increased our faith in God and our awareness that He will take care of us and our buildings. He lives in our house."

Although the congregation’s home suffered minor damage as a result of the quake, the sisters spent four days and nights outside under heavy rain and dense clouds.

During the days spent out in the open, the sisters spent a lot of time with other evacuees, trying to alleviate their suffering through prayer.

At the same time, noting the neighbours’ generosity, she stressed that "People shared their food with us since our kitchen was out of use."

In light of the situation, "We continuously asked the Lord to give us the courage to face the situation. We shared their agony, fear and uncertainty," she said.

Later, engineers checked the nuns’ home and ruled out structural damage. After the building was declared safe, the sisters were let back in.

Catholic buildings suffered less damage during the earthquake because they were properly constructed, unlike many Hindu temples, public and private buildings and prisons, which were built with sub-standard materials.

• nepal
• earthquake
• nuns
• school
• shelter
• survival