​Money made available to help rebuild disaster-stricken Nepal communities

Funding of £2 million has been made available by the Big Lottery Fund to support work in Nepal following last Saturday’s devastating earthquake.

The money comes from the funder’s International Communities programme and will fund groups working in Nepal and those supporting communities.

A BLF spokeswoman said: "Things are at a very early stage – we’re continuing to do research and speak to various agencies to best determine where our funds add the most value.

"This is likely to be used to rebuild communities.

“We will release more detail once a clearer picture emerges."

We’re continuing to do research and speak to various agencies

Five projects are already funded by the lottery: Kidasha, which works to improve maternal and newborn health in the Rupandehi district; a project run by Renewable World to provide year-round water supplies to communities in the hills of western Nepal; and projects run by the Transrural Trust,Feed the Minds and WaterAid.

They have each received £500,000.

The spokeswoman added: "It’s important to be clear that we can’t make general donations to emergency appeals for immediate disaster relief, and this funding for Nepal will involve UK-based agencies working with communities in Nepal to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.”