SALISBURY based Nepalese charity, the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT), has appointed a new CEO as it looks to continue its massive rebuilding project following two deadly earthquakes last year.

Al Howard takes over at the helm from William Shuttlewood - who has retired following 11 years with the charity - midway through an £18million reconstruction effort.

Nepal was ravaged by two earthquakes last year which killed more than 8,000 people and left more than a million people homeless.

Among the GWT’s 9,000 pensioner community, who rely on the charity for income after leaving the British Army, 1,200 homes were flattened. So far 500 homes have been rebuilt with another 200 planned to be constructed over the coming year as well as a number of schools and water projects.

Al has been working in Nepal for the last five years building bridges and hydroelectric plants after previously serving in the army with the Gurkhas. He was in Nepal when the first quake struck and witnessed first-hand the work the GWT’s field team was doing right from the offset.

Saying he was delighted to be back in Salisbury after 25 years abroad, Al said he was looking forward to carrying on the work of the charity which is primarily providing pensions and support to its veterans.

The GWT has 27 members of staff in its Salisbury office in addition to more than 400 on the ground in Nepal.

“What is important is that our steady state, what we ordinarily do for our veterans and their families in Nepal, continues,” he said.

“Obviously the last year has been dominated by the two devastating earthquakes. But that is over and above what we normally do, it is a colossal task across large swathes of the country that are affected.

“It is a fantastic country and it has fantastic people who have sadly been dealt a number of very bad hands.”

Relief efforts over the last year have been hampered by a southern border dispute with India as well as the monsoon rains. It has been “extremely difficult”, according to Al and the relief efforts had been hindered.

“Life was quite hard but it gave a snapshot into what our pensioners are dealing with on a daily basis,” he said.

“[The veterans] are entirely dependent on us for their livelihoods with their welfare pension — which we have increased again this year. And for their homes, which have been devastated by the earthquake. We are their ‘go to’ organisation.”

So far the British public has given more than £6million to the GWT relief effort.

To donate visit gwt.org.uk/ earthquake