EARTHQUAKE ONE YEAR ON: YUSUF'S STORY

Sixty-year-old Yusuf Khan and his wife Shamili Banu live with their sons, eighteen-year-old Farook and Rashid who is sixteen in a new settlement in Drangyari. Their previous village, Rangwar, was destroyed in the earthquake. Their two older sons are married and live nearby. “My sons get very frustrated," Yusuf says. "They have both studied at school but none of us can get a job."

No one in his household has a regular job but Yusuf and his sons sometimes work for the army carrying grain and construction materials from the market to the army base.

They built their temporary home with the help of ActionAid’s cash-for-work scheme. He desperately wants the land ownership question that hangs over their settlement to be resolved, so they can build a permanent home.

"We used to go to Chowkibal (army base four kilometres away) and cast our votes in the hope that the elected representatives will take notice of us," he says.

"But we haven’t seen anything since independence except promises – they don’t listen to poor people like us.

"After the earthquake it was only ActionAid that came and took notice.

"From the government we received the first compensation payment because our home was destroyed – we have been using this for our daily needs.