Technology in Post-Disaster Reconstruction: How One Woman is Contributing to Thousands of Safer Homes in Nepal

Women are leading the way towards the recovery of earthquake-affected communities in Nepal. Nearly 750,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the earthquakes in early 2015, leaving families in temporary shelters and students learning in makeshift school buildings. Rebuilding this infrastructure so that it does not collapse again in a future earthquake takes more than just bricks and money. Access to professional engineers and trained builders, along with other information on safe building techniques, are all crucial to rebuilding safer houses and schools.

So, how do people in rural areas – often with unreliable transportation and communication systems – gain access to information and trained professionals to help rebuild their houses and schools? Technology is changing the way people can access these resources, and women are emerging as leaders in this field as well.

Khusbhu Gupta is a Computer Engineer and Programmer who has been contributing to post-disaster data collection and monitoring through the FULCRUM Mobile App, an offline data collection and monitoring tool used by Build Change to monitor ongoing construction of rural housing in accordance with the government housing codes.

Khusbhu is a talented and passionate young woman, and as a technology enthusiast she enjoys diving into big data to generate insights used by diverse audiences to support families in rebuilding their houses safer than before. Leveraging FULCRUM for “Build Change has been a perfect platform for me to utilize my aspirations and potential as an IT professional. I am so happy to be able to use this technology for social good” she says, during a break at the Build Change Kathmandu office. “Without the FULCRUM app, the data collection and monitoring process would have been tedious and challenging for the engineers on-site and in the office.”

FULCRUM provides engineers on-site with real time recommendations for construction, based on the data they observe and input, helping them to monitor the construction quality. It also records technical details of houses along with GPS locations and photos. Not only does the app support construction of individual houses, it also provides an overview of on ongoing construction sites to staff and project managers at the Kathmandu office, without them having to travel long distances between sites and the office. Staff and project managers can monitor construction quality, staff location, and project progress from the office, making the system extremely efficient and productive.

Khusbhu oversees all of the data entered and output in the app, and ensures it runs smoothly. She has been instrumental to the consistent, efficient lines of communication from Build Change field-based staff and the Kathmandu office, which has in turn supported the construction of hundreds of safer homes and schools around the country. With her help, homeowners and school leaders will continue to have access to the information, engineering support, and technical assistance they need to rebuild their homes and schools to disaster-resistant standards.

We are so lucky to have Khusbhu on our team, and cannot wait to see the exceptional work she will continue to bring to our team. Due to her outstanding work in data science, she has also been awarded with full scholarship to pursue Master in Data Science at Mahidol University in Thailand. Congratulations to Khusbhu on her great achievement!

Meanwhile, we are pleased to know that we have Mohita Joshi will be taking over Khusbhu’s responsibilities while she studies. Mohita has her masters in Technology Computer Science and Engineering from National Institute of Technology, India, and has over 5 years of experience in data management. We are so proud to have another female Program Information Officer on our team.

The female technical staff we work with every day are some of the most passionate leaders we have encountered, creating positive impacts in their communities through leveraging their skills and experience. To Khusbhu and all of the amazing women out there changing the world: thank you for your inspiration and dedication to building a safer world, one building at a time!