Livelihood Fellow: Ms. Adity Joshi

           Ms. Adity Joshi is one of the contestant that we interviewed lately to know her thoughts on choosing the disaster management course. Women Development Advocacy Center's (WDAC) initiation alongside Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on providing Post Graduate Diploma of Disaster has had a great response from fellow students. Adity is another energetic youth who believed in herself to become a social worker. Since childhood, her dream was to enroll herself in this field so she started to pursue her career on it. Adity got her graduate degree on social work from St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, Nepal.

          The devastating earthquake that occurred a year ago in the region has had taken many lives. This gave Adity a reason to work upon her passion even more. She says that she couldn't bear to see more people being affected. So, she practically got involved to help the victims out. With all the rigorous training and experiences, Aditi wants to do something for the welfare of the community. She gradually wants to build up her expertise into making Nepal a better place to live in.   

           Adity has involved herself in numerous activities such as Psycho-social Training, Dance Therapy, Photo Voice, Narrative Approach, Trauma and Community engagement. She is currently working as a teacher and a field supervisor at Kadambari College of Science and Management. This crafts her role as an effective communicator and a good delivery person. Right now, Adity is at TISS in Mumbai, India to take 2 months course on disaster management. All the other participants including her are very busy with their studies and are piled up with assignments. So, I was lucky enough to take an interview on the experiences that she has been having.

           It was very difficult for me to manage a Q&A session with Adity because of her ongoing hectic schedule. But she still took some time out from her studies for this interview. Here's how the Q&A session went.

What are the different occupations practiced by different groups in your community?

                  With the presence of heterogeneous groups in my community the occupation practiced vary from field to desk work.

      How has the earthquake affected the livelihood of different individuals/groups/communities?
             The massive destruction done by earthquake affected livelihood of whole community for longer than expected. Lives of people, properties and infrastructures were majorly affected by the earthquake. However, the normal life has started to overtake the destruction in recent days but the reconstruction activities are still lagging behind in some areas.

      How severe is the impact?
             The development of the country have been pushed further backwards as the earthquake has created a severe impact around whole nation. The affected people are still waiting for rehabilitation and the infrastructures are still to be reconstructed. The lives of the people seems difficult even after a year.

     According to you which livelihood sector (agriculture, livestock, service, tourism etc.) needs urgent attention for disaster recovery and why?
              In the case of Nepal, tourism has been one of the important industry. With the destruction of various heritage sites and trekking routes of Nepal, tourism industry is the sector which in my view requires urgent attention for disaster recovery. A negative promotion of the earthquake's news has created an impact on the foreign land as well. It is being quoted that the whole nation has been destroyed due to earthquake. This has led to declination in number of tourist visiting here. Hence, to improve the economy and to move ahead with the development works, tourism industry should be quickly addressed.

What are your ideas/plans for facilitating livelihood recovery among earthquake affected communities?

              One of the major problem that was being seen is that the people have been suffering from trauma resulted by earthquake. When it comes down to health problems it is always a serious issue. So, in my opinion health sectors should provide service to infected people. This can make people feel better and fearless by allowing them to get back to their normal life. On this matter, I will try to contact with as much health authorities and ensure people to get the treatment from their sufferings.  Another idea is to move quickly with the reconstruction works and then rehabilitation of the community.


Write your biographical sketch.

             As a child I have always been an average student but with the increase in levels of studies, I was able to understand the importance of it. Gradually moving on with my study, I came to realize I have always wanted to do something for my society. For this, I chose the field of social work. Along with studying, I was able to involve in various organizations. This made me contribute something for my society and I feel proud to give happiness back to the people. After I Completed my studies, I got involved in various training programs and workshops. Among the works that I was indulged in, I was happy to be part of a program which helped children who were affected from trauma caused by earthquake. However, I am also a fun loving person and I love to travel around and explore new things in life.

Why are you interested in pursuing this course?
              Being a social work student, I have always wanted to do something for my society. Along with that I have also worked as trainee in different organizations. During my study period, I have learned to cope up with various unpredictable situations and at the same time I learned to get along with various communities through my field works. Similarly, talking about the place where I live, Nepal has always been a disaster prone area and I believe this course will help me to build up knowledge regarding disaster. And I also believe that it will help me to give something for the society so that the livelihood of people affected by disaster will recover as soon as possible.

Mention any work done by you relevant to the field of study selected by you.
             After the devastating earthquake, I was involved in conducting various recreational activities and TLC (Temporary Learning Center) for children in the affected areas. Similarly, I also went for surveys in various earthquake affected areas of Nepal. There, I was able to analyze the condition of people and provide the relief materials for those in need. For this, I was associated with Nepal Jesuit Society Institute (NJSI) where we carried out methods like Focus Group Discussion, Questionnaire and Key Informant Interview.  On the continuation of my survey, I also went to different schools in Nuwakot, Nepal to analyze the impact brought by earthquake among the school children. 


Prajwol Wagle  is a football fanatic, a blogger and an undergrad at King's College.