You might imagine that Kathmandu residents do not experience natural disasters like landslides and floods, but this is not the case. Residents of various sections of Kathmandu see their homes flooded during the monsoon season. They are the inhabitants of squatter communities living along the banks of Bagmati and Manohara, among other rivers that flow within Kathmandu Valley. These people lose their food, clothing, and shelters during the monsoon season each year. Sometimes their crucial documents are lost or damaged as well.  The settlements that are most vulnerable to flooding are in Banshighat, Sinamangal, and Manohara. Youth Hub, a group comprising young people living in flood-prone neighborhoods of the valley, identified these areas. And to mitigate the effects of flood, they have been teaching the concerned locals how to create ‘go bags’.  A go bag is essentially an emergency kit containing critical documents, dry food and clothing that can come handy in times of disasters. Youth Hub began this project after the monsoon season of last year, and about 105 people living in Kathmandu’s flood-prone areas were taught how to create go bags.  

Anju Dewali, a resident of Banshighat, was one of the training participants. She says her family suffers hardship every monsoon as floodwaters submerge her settlement, damaging food, clothes, valuable items, and documents. 

“We had to visit various government offices to make the documents damaged by the flood,” she says. “But now that we have been taught to prepare a go bag, I’m hopeful that some of the important paperwork will at least remain safe in the event of a flood.” The initiative of Youth Hub has also received support from Ward 10 of Budhanilkantha Municipality. The ward office had donated Rs 150,000 to support their work last year.  Nawaraj Bhattarai, the former ward chair of the municipality, says the money was given to help youngsters build their capacity for humanitarian aid.  With the money, a youth training session was carried out in March. The training also helped encourage the participation of female youths in humanitarian activities. Youth activism has also played a crucial role in disaster mitigation and emergency aid work in other parts of the country. Take Dhangadhimai Municipality, Aurahi Rural Municipality and other villages of Siraha district for example. Every summer, at least 10 families in these areas used to suffer loss of properties in fire-related incidents. But thanks to the fire prevention campaign launched by a local youth group, there were no fire incidents in the two municipalities last year.  To raise awareness about fire related disasters, the local youths perform a folk dance called ‘Dholho Pipihi’ which is accompanied by songs that promote fire safety.  Because of constant youth advocacy, Dhangadhimai Municipality has developed a disaster management policy and allocated funds to reduce fire-related incidents in communities. As part of the fire mitigation program, a survey was also conducted in Dhangadhimai Municipality-14. Aurhi Rural Municipality has also followed suit of Dhangadhimai Municipality by allocating funds for the mitigation of fire-related disasters.  All of these tasks have been aided by the partner organizations, Dalit Janakalyan Youth Club and Red Cross Society. Elsewhere in Bardiya, when a sudden rainstorm lashed the district at the end of October last year, large swathes of paddy farm were damaged or destroyed. Rajapur Municipality was particularly hit hard. Besides the loss of crops, many families were also rendered homeless. Again, it was youths who came to the aid of these families. They worked together with the local government to move the displaced families to a secure location and provide them with food.  The youths also spent three days working in the field to assist the farming community in drying, moving, and storing the paddy grains. They further coordinated with the local government to provide emergency relief to the families who were affected by flooding as a result of the rainstorm.  In Parsa, Samanata Youth Hub has been raising awareness among communities against the impacts of floods. They have been focusing their drive in the neighborhoods of Paterwa Sugauli Rural Municipality. The drive includes distribution of flyers and putting up banners in the flood-affected areas. Youths in Palpa, too, have been playing a proactive role in disaster mitigation. To lower the risk of fire, Yuwa Sangam has been clearing fallen leaves from Tansen Bazar and burning them safely.  The Division Forest Office and the Nepal Army are supporting this effort.