After working for four years at a brick kiln, Sabitra Tolange decided to quit her unrewarding tedious job. However, the mother of two—the youngest a three-month-old girl—was forced to return to the same work after the earthquake damaged her house, in Ramechhap, beyond repair.

“My only house is unlivable. So I chose to live in the temporary shelter until the government helps in rebuilding my home. When it looked like the assistance will not come anytime soon, we decided to come back and earn whatever little we could to build back my place,” said Tolange, 24.

She thinks there is not much difference between living in a temporary shelter and a hut in a brick kiln. Tolange works at the Krishna Brick Kiln in Bhaktapur and lives in a small hut made of raw bricks with her two children. Her elder son is five-year-old, ready to be enrolled in a school. But the plan is on hold until Tolange and her husband, who works at the same place too, can save enough to put a solid roof over their head.

Since the government is still not ready to help the quake survivors rebuild their houses, their condition in the past 10 months has been terrible. Stakeholders claim that newborns and their mothers live without proper nutrition in unhealthy conditions under tarpaulins.

“Women and children are vulnerable. They need extra care during these conditions. Unfortunately, they have been left to fend for themselves as the government is unable to provide them incentives,” said Bimala Rai Paudyal, former member of the National Planning Commission.

Sarita Karki, mother of a two-year-old girl from Sindhupalchok working at a brick kiln, worries about her baby’s health. Karki had packed her bag and left the place after the baby got chest infection and the doctors told her to live in a healthy environment.

“I have no other skill. I came here with the girl to work just one more season to earn some money,” said Karki, whose daughter is undergoing treatment for whooping cough this season.