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Nepal earthquake: Staffordshire aid worker looks back at deadly disaster one year on

One year after the deadly earthquake in Nepal, a Staffordshire humanitarian aid worker Brian Beckett has reflected on the devastation and impact of the disaster.

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Mr Beckett, who grew up in Lichfield, was in the first wave of responders who flew to Nepal to coordinate aid efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck on the April 25.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed over 8,000 people and left 8 million people affected.

Brian works for Plan International, one of the world's leading global children's charities working on safe education, disaster relief and girls' rights across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Recalling the chaos that awaited him, Mr Beckett said: "In those first couple of days the information coming out from Nepal was still sketchy. Would there be running water? Would there be food? Would there be anywhere to sleep?"

"We flew in three days after the earthquake on one of the first flights to successfully land after the airport was repeatedly closed due to aftershocks.

"When we arrived in Kathmandu, we found that the damage was huge, but that some neighbourhoods strangely seemed unscathed.

"Plan International's Nepali staff were truly outstanding. Everyone had been affected by the earthquake. Some had lost their homes, and everyone had a family member, friend or neighbour whose house had collapsed.

"Almost everyone continued to sleep in the open or in makeshift camps because they were scared of aftershocks doing more damage during the night.

"To see so many people from so many organisations and countries work with such commitment was inspiring and reminded me why I got into this work in the first place: an opportunity to make a positive difference in people's lives."

In the year following the deadly earthquake, Plan's emergency response has supported vulnerable children and communities in the aftermath of the earthquake, through provision of emergency shelter, food and water, immediate access to temporary learning centres and safe spaces, psychosocial support, temporary educational facilities and health services.

The construction of educational facilities has allowed in the last year over 20,000 children to resume their education immediately after the earthquake.

Mr Beckett added: "The one year marker can be a challenging time as the initial excitement has gone but there is a huge amount of work still to be done. This is where Plan with its long term community focus can really be a strong agency as we are committed to the long term and seeing through the program."

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