Story of The Chance Initiative
Can small pebbles create great waves?
Before the 7.9 magnitude apocalyptic earthquake of April 2015, people in the rural area of Nepal where Future Village is located had moved out of extreme poverty, attained quality health care and other sustainable livelihood opportunities through constant intervention of our non-profit in community building and their own hard work of over 11 years . Unfortunately, on this warm day in April 2015, the massive earthquake struck with a epicentre close to this village in the world’s poorest region. It destroyed all homes, schools, farms and killed livestock.
At this point, all the progress that we had made as a non-profit and the prosperous future that the local community saw being realized, that dream was ruined in minutes. A community which deeply ingrained the value of kindness, which talked about “Never Ending Peace and Love”, which saw hope for a prosperous future, an end to the vicious cycle of poverty they were in; suddenly that day they felt as if Gods were not happy with their short-lived prosperity. The events of the initial few days were discouraging for everyone in the village and our team that had garnered hope over the past one decade.
The initial response of Future Village after the earthquake was to provide emergency relief- there were many calls for help and resources came pouring from all over the world. We were able to control the damage done by the disaster to infrastructure at a time when big international humanitarian organizations had forgotten Nepal’s rural villages like Katunge. Our team of brave volunteers from several countries (who work on pro bono basis) risked their own life to visit the obliterated village in the middle of all the chaos of a mega disaster to make sure essential aid like food, medicine and temporary shelters reached families in the monsoons. There were extremely dangerous aftershocks that caused massive landslides and buildings to crumble further.
With days passing, as the chaos had turned into hopelessness, we started to feel a sense of the incredible work that lies ahead. An important choice was to be made: should we give up and leave the community we have grown so fond of to no one’s mercy? Should we only build what we, as an local organization had lost (the iconic Future Village House)? Or should we continue on 11 years of footsteps that represent bravery and hope to take the road less travelled, and turn the Future Village project area into a new dream, a new beginning?
This work, as we had mapped was not easy. Still pondering, should we choose to help the village and get it back up from ground zero, or leave it as a job for the state that has a questionable record of governance and accountability? This long-term mission of absolute revival of a community that looks like a war-zone, that all big humanitarian and disaster relief organizations with ample resources have conveniently chosen to ignore, can we as a team of dreamers provide meaningful solutions for a better future? So, if we were to, how can we help?
The Chance Initiative by Future Village has formed in such a context, as a project of love, to help and make a difference!
At this point, all the progress that we had made as a non-profit and the prosperous future that the local community saw being realized, that dream was ruined in minutes. A community which deeply ingrained the value of kindness, which talked about “Never Ending Peace and Love”, which saw hope for a prosperous future, an end to the vicious cycle of poverty they were in; suddenly that day they felt as if Gods were not happy with their short-lived prosperity. The events of the initial few days were discouraging for everyone in the village and our team that had garnered hope over the past one decade.
The initial response of Future Village after the earthquake was to provide emergency relief- there were many calls for help and resources came pouring from all over the world. We were able to control the damage done by the disaster to infrastructure at a time when big international humanitarian organizations had forgotten Nepal’s rural villages like Katunge. Our team of brave volunteers from several countries (who work on pro bono basis) risked their own life to visit the obliterated village in the middle of all the chaos of a mega disaster to make sure essential aid like food, medicine and temporary shelters reached families in the monsoons. There were extremely dangerous aftershocks that caused massive landslides and buildings to crumble further.
With days passing, as the chaos had turned into hopelessness, we started to feel a sense of the incredible work that lies ahead. An important choice was to be made: should we give up and leave the community we have grown so fond of to no one’s mercy? Should we only build what we, as an local organization had lost (the iconic Future Village House)? Or should we continue on 11 years of footsteps that represent bravery and hope to take the road less travelled, and turn the Future Village project area into a new dream, a new beginning?
This work, as we had mapped was not easy. Still pondering, should we choose to help the village and get it back up from ground zero, or leave it as a job for the state that has a questionable record of governance and accountability? This long-term mission of absolute revival of a community that looks like a war-zone, that all big humanitarian and disaster relief organizations with ample resources have conveniently chosen to ignore, can we as a team of dreamers provide meaningful solutions for a better future? So, if we were to, how can we help?
The Chance Initiative by Future Village has formed in such a context, as a project of love, to help and make a difference!