GORKHA DISTRICT, Nepal - Sarita Tamang was nine months pregnant when the earthquake hit and her house collapsed near the epicentre of the earthquake. A few days after moving into a tent provided by the government, she went into labour.
"I could not even get up from my bed and I did not have hope that I could be alive," recalls Sarita, whose brother-in-law managed to pull her out from the rubble. "I felt that my organs were not functioning and my body was trembling."
When UNFPA reached the Mucchok VDC in Gorkha district, Sarita, 25, was sharing a tent with her two young daughters, her newborn baby boy and four other families, including a pregnant woman and two lactating mothers. Because the local health facility was also destroyed by the earthquake, Sarita had given birth inside the shared tent.
Ensuring the needs of pregnant and lactating women are not sidelined
Sarita is one of an estimated 93,000 pregnant women across 14 of the most affected districts in the country. And like her, more than 10,000 are expected to deliver every month.
As part of immediate relief efforts in those key areas, UNFPA has distributed thousands of dignity kits, which contain vital supplies tailored to the specific needs of women and girls, including sanitary pads, soap, clothes and a flash light.
These items, too often overlooked in the rush to provide assistance to earthquake survivors, are essential - critically so for pregnant women and new mothers. For Sarita, they have provided a sense of dignity in the harshest of conditions.
UNFPA, in coordination with the Women and Children Office (WCO), has distributed more than 2,100 dignity kits in key affected areas in Gorkha. Another 6,000 are under way to cover the needs across the district.
Helping to manage the trauma
Adding to the trauma of the initial earthquake, repeated aftershocks are causing widespread distress among many women and children.
By helping women preserve their dignity and self-esteem in the harshest conditions, UNFPA is able to establish contacts and provide further support and protection on a larger scale. As such, delivering kits to the hard-hit areas is an opportunity to provide psychosocial support and counselling, as well as information about childcare, reproductive health, hygiene, and gender-based violence.
The need is evident as the traumatic effects are being felt on all levels. When asked the name of her baby boy, Sarita hesitated. "Sangam," she said eventually - but she's not sure. It was given by a Lama (Buddhist Guru) on the fifth day, according to local culture. Sarita will keep it.
