Women’s Safe House, Udayapur

Following on the success of our Women’s Safe House project in Khandbari in Sankhuwasabha, at the end of 2025 we were approached by our Nepal partner organization SODEC about another Women’s Safe House project in the town of Gaighat in the Udayapur District in the SE of Nepal near the border with India. The Women’s Safe House in Udayapur was up and running already and served over 100 women and children a year but only had 14 beds available in 4 dormitory rooms on the ground floor. The building was never properly completed and had an unfinished second floor due to lack of funds. The second floor was poorly constructed and had unfinished red brick walls with a poor roof design that was causing mildew and water ingress. ABIN decided to collaborate once again with Changing Lives Nepal (CLN) to fund the rebuilding of the second floor and roof along with repairs to the existing ground floor and site improvements.

Before work started

Project cost estimates and drawings for the second floor improvements were developed and worked on during early 2026. In April, demolition of the second floor red brick walls started. As with most of ABIN’s other schools and Women’s Safe House project, locally made interlocking brick was utilized to rebuild the walls on the second floor. This system provides a seismically sound and cost effective alternative to the traditional red brick walls.

Old brick walls demolished

New brick walls

New brick walls completed

New wood windows were installed. The old steel truss roof was removed, then remodelled and reinstalled with repurposed sheet metal roofing. The new rooms are being finished in a painted plaster finish whilst the remaining walls will have a varnished interlock brick look. New bathrooms with new fixtures will also be provided. Completion of the project is anticipated to be the end of September 2026.

New roof

New second floor

New plumbing

Plaster finish to rooms