In April of last year, Nepal was struck with one of the most devastating earthquakes known to recent memory. With a magnitude of 7.8M, the massive earthquake followed by its several aftershocks have caused thousands of casualties, thousands more left injured and millions of dollars of infrastructure reduced to rubble. Millions of people in Nepal were left homeless and vulnerable.
ActionAid, an international nonprofit that is active in over 45 different countries across the globe, had been working with communities in Nepal for more than 30 years. In a discussion with Roger De Peza, ActionAid’s Team Administrator for IT and Finance, Roger has expressed how difficult those times were for their organization. With their resources spread thin during such trying times, Roger shared about the tremendous impact of the Autodesk licenses they have received through TechSoup.
When the request came through from the team in Nepal for CAD software licenses to help the crucial rebuilding work, Roger immediately reached out to make the purchases. But since the whole world had heard about the situation in Nepal, the licenses were offered as donations to ActionAid. Through the donated licenses of Autodesk, ActionAid was able to not only save a significant amount of funds, but were also able to reallocate those to help even more victims through their relief efforts.
Roger shares how the Autodesk software has been used to design temporary shelter for those affected by the earthquake in the Sindhupalchok District. The software was also used in the construction of safe spaces for women, who are often more vulnerable when emergencies strike, which can be used for things like breastfeeding and cleaning in privacy.
However, the impact was not solely confined within Nepal. Through TechSoup, Roger shares that they were also able to acquire a substantial number of donated Microsoft licenses which they have deployed to their country offices in Thailand, India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, Palestine and Afghanistan.
Through the hundreds of licenses of donated Windows and Office acquired through TechSoup, Roger shares how these licenses have provided a substantial impact not only in their offices in the aforementioned countries, but also in amplifying the impact of their local centres on the grassroots communities they are serving.
Products featured in this story:
Autodesk licenses, Windows Operating Systems, Microsoft Office Suites