THE DELIVERY THAT REBUILT SAFETY

Shelter Kits by Truck | Nepal 
Sapana* and Kala*, both 13, are cousins and lifelong friends. 
On 26 August, a glacier collapsed in northern Nepal and a flood tore through their valley.
Children and families fled with only minutes to spare.

Photography: Ulet Ifansasti/Save the Children 

THE FLOOD

The girls weren’t together when the water came.

''My teacher tried to pull everyone uphill, but he could not save everyone. The flood took half of them.''
– Sapana*

Both girls survived.
Their homes didn’t.
Sapana’s school was destroyed. 

Everything that represented safety and security was washed away.

Friends Kala* (left) and Sapana*, both 13, were displaced after flash floods destroyed their homes in Nuwakot, Nepal.

THE JOURNEY

But while communities were still coming to terms with what had happened, another journey had already begun.

At 9am, news of the flood reached our team. By 9pm, a truck of relief supplies had arrived.

Floodwaters had damaged roads, destroyed bridges and cut off entire communities.

Journeys that would normally take less than an hour could take up to ten.

But when people have lost everything, waiting is not an option.

Save the Children staff load a truck with essential items for families affected by flash floods in Nuwakot, Nepal.
A truck arrives to deliver essential items to families impacted by flash floods in Nuwakot, Nepal.
Save the Children staff deliver shelter kits to families displaced by flash floods in Nuwakot, Nepal.

WHAT WAS DELIVERED?

A shelter kit delivered to families displaced by flash floods in Nuwakot, Nepal. , image

It was a truck carrying boxes. But inside those boxes was far more than aid.

Tarpaulins and rope to create shelter.

Blankets and mosquito nets for protection.

A gas cooker and cooking utensils to prepare food.

Hygiene and dignity kits to help families stay healthy and stay clean.

Two women receive a shelter kit from Save the Children at a distribution in Nuwakot, Nepal. , image

After a disaster, the smallest items can make the biggest difference.

Sunita* and Sandhya* receive a shelter kit from Save the Children at a distribution in Nuwakot, Nepal. , image

DELIVERING MORE THAN SHELTER

The response didn’t stop when the trucks arrived.

Save the Children set up safe spaces for children and temporary learning centres.


For children dealing with the trauma of losing their homes, these were places to play, learn and simply be children again.

Not every life-changing delivery comes in a box.

Friends Sapana* and Kala*, both 13, and Prativa*, 15, play at a Save the Children temporary learning space in Nuwakot, Nepal.
Sapana*, 13, plays badminton outside a Save the Children temporary learning space in Nuwakot, Nepal.
Friends Sapana*, and Kala*, both 13, paint pictures at a Save the Children temporary learning space in Nuwakot, Nepal.

SAPANA AND KALA TODAY

Today, both girls live with their families at a holding centre. 

“The box from Save the Children had combs, brushes, soap, towels and many other things. It has helped us a lot.” – Sapana* 

At the safe space, they can be with friends again. And Sapana, who lost her school to the flood, is eager to keep learning. 

Friends Sapana*, and Kala*, both 13, hold up the pictures they painted at a Save the Children temporary learning space in Nuwakot, Nepal.

ONE MORE DELIVERY.

A shelter kit can’t stop a flood. 

But it can help a family create somewhere safe to sleep.

It can protect a child’s health.

It can restore comfort, dignity and hope when everything else has been lost. 

£24 could give a family like Sapana’s a shelter kit. 

This Christmas, make one more delivery that matters: Donate now


Your donation will help children in the UK and around the world, wherever the need is greatest. 

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