Kathmandu, April 25 -- When the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the country on April 25, 2015, the world around Saraswati Maharjan started collapsing.

Maharjan managed to survive the disaster, as did her old house in Yatkhabahal, in Kathmandu, but it suffered severe damages. "Everything around me fell apart, but my house did not collapse," said the 46-year-old who still lives in the same quake-damaged house which stands upright supported by wooden beams.

However, slight vibrations, such as that from a moving vehicle, causes specks of dust to fall off the walls and the ceiling. Her old house is built of mud and bricks. The wooden beams that currently support the structure have also become weak after being exposed to the vagaries of weath...