Feature: Quake-hit Nepalese homemakers learning manual skills amid fear of aftershocks

One month has passed since the devastating quake struck this beautiful Himalayan nation, stripping thousands of people of their homes with little chance of a quick recovery.

The disaster has destroyed only 20 percent of the buildings in the capital compelling the families to shift to temporary shelters, but the remaining 80 percent structures'occupants are terrified to stay indoors.

The men have resumed their works and most of the homemakers find it safe and secure to stay outside for the whole day engaging in different activities.

Twenty-nine-year old Nima Seikh, a local of Basantapur which witnessed massive devastation, has started a completely new routine since last month.

She no longer wakes up early to prepare breakfast for her son, a grade-one-student, as all the educational institutions have not resumed teaching yet, and doesn't spend her whole day watching soap operas or roaming around the Ason market.

This summer, her morning begins with a fear of aftershock that may collapse her little, cracked building at any time. Within a few minutes, she quickly prepares morning lunch and completes some household chores,and heads for Tudikhel, an army pavilion ground which has turned into a temporary shelter.

"I have been learning to sew clothes here for the last few days. This manual skill will be useful throughout my life and I can also make some money later,"Seikh told Xinhua.

Along with her, some four other housewives were also learning to use sewing machines and make designs for basic clothes like blouses, maxis and vests. They have been trained by an Indian social organization named"Veerayatan."

Veerayatan set up a learning center with five sewing machines and an instructor in Tudikhel in the first week of May to train the free homemakers, who had been terrified by the disaster.

"I am happy to teach this sewing skill to these quake-hit women who are eager to learn something creative. This skill will be with them forever which helps to make them independent," said Sadvi Bibhaji, 60, an Indian instructor in the center.

The free classes are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 30 women including homemakers and young girls arrive at the learning center, housed under a big tent every day to utilize their time.

The housewives also take their children with them to Tudikhel as the center is child friendly. These centers have been a perfect place for the children who have been psychologically damaged by the continuous aftershocks.

The kids indulge themselves in different activities like drawing, singing and dancing in the center, whereas their mothers and aunts get busy improving their sewing skills.

These learning centers have been the best alternative to escape from the fear of aftershocks.

However, these homemakers also fear about the future as the learning centers are only temporary.

Susmita Poudel, a homemaker and mother of two shared her worries with Xinhua. "I was working in a private educational consultancy as a receptionist but the quake damaged the whole building. I am jobless now so I am trying to learn some new skills. I don't know what I will do after this learning center is closed."

Though the kids learning center has been established in most of all the quake-hit districts by different social organizations, there still lacks women-friendly spaces and learning centers for females in Nepal. Endi