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Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

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Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

Amid the harshest adversity, Nepalese try to pick up the pieces.

Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A young Nepali girl sits on the ruins left by a devastating earthquake.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A grandmother has a smoke, and a blast, at a street performance.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A circus performance is underway on the streets of Charikot.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

An elderly Nepalese lady looks optimistically out of window.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A young Nepalese stands next to his house in the mountains.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A Sherpa carries school sweaters over a bridge and into the mountains.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A crowd of Nepalese children laugh during a street performance.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A police officer on duty during the recent petrol crisis.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A young girl pumps water at a camp for those displaced by the earthquakes.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A Nepalese toddler at a camp for those displaced by the earthquakes.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A women sits in front of her tent at a camp for those displaced by the earthquakes.

Credit: Miguel Cano
Nepal: A Study in Perseverance

A Nepalese woman feeds the pigeons in Boudhanath.

Credit: Miguel Cano

2015 was a year Nepalese will never forget. In April and May, massive earthquakes left 8,000 people dead amid savage destruction. Then, Nepal found itself in a new crisis, as a spat with India left it with a blockade on its border during winter. Shortages of petrol, gas and medicine turned everyday tasks into major challenges. Meanwhile, dozens of camps in Kathmandu were hosting displaced Nepalese from the mountains, where entire villages were turned to rubble by the quakes.

Yet Nepal has persevered. International support from individuals and institutions helped boost the spirit of Nepalese. The shared struggle has created a spirit of solidarity and Nepalese have once again demonstrated their ability to stay strong and positive under the harshest of circumstances.

Nepal has been through the most testing of trials, but the Nepalese are determined to rebuild their lives.

Miguel Cano is a filmmaker, a photographer and the director of Mr. Challenge films: www.mrchallengefilms.com