News

The President of the UNI Nepal Liaison Council (UNI NLC) Shankar Lamichhane has written to UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings on the occasion of the second anniversary of the earthquake that killed more than 8000 people and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of many thousands more.

In the letter, (see attached documents) Brother Lamichhane thanked Jennings and UNI affiliates for their solidarity and support since that black day, 25 April 2015.

Brother Lamichhane spoke of how the contributions of UNI affiliates in partnership with APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad had made a difference to people’s lives.

The UNI Nepal Liaison Council President said in the letter, “This crisis traumatized us but at the same time it also taught us the importance of solidarity and collectivism. Sometimes desperation and fear turns into strength when there is support behind us. Being the activist of social movement we should always feel our social responsibilities.

We devoted ourselves to bring smiles to the faces of people who are always in their desperate plight. As a trade union we know our limitation but at the same time accomplishing our duties and responsibilities towards underprivileged communities with our utmost efforts. More, we are working in our plan to uplift their living standard by all possible ways.”

The UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings thanked Brother Lamichhane for his kind words and praised the UNI NLC led by the president and UNI APRO Director Rajendra Acharya for their courage during and after the earthquake. Jennings said that the UNI NLC were continuing the good work as evidenced by their latest update on the Earthquake Relief & Construction Support (see attached documents). The UNI GS also mentioned the commendable work carried out by APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad in launching the appeal as well as UNI affiliates and staff who rallied around.

Jennings said, “We stand in solidarity with our Nepalese brothers and sisters. We know that many of them are still suffering physical and economic hardship because of the earthquake. They are not forgotten and through the excellent work of the UNI NLC we will continue to do all we can, no matter how great or small to assist them in their recovery.”

Update on the situation in Nepal.

Please see this article by Al Jazeera English service to get an idea of the size of the task and the issues and challenges faced by our Nepalese brothers and sisters.

For UNI NLC, the rebuilding of houses and lives goes on despite these difficult circumstances: