Global Infrastructure Site Engineer Supports Nepal School Rebuild Following Devastating Earthquake

Andrew McLaren is a freelance Site Engineer at Global Infrastructure who has worked predominantly with the business since 2017, contributing to a range of civil engineering and construction projects across Scotland, including Aberarder Windfarm Substation for Kirby, and Strategic Spares Warehouses at Dalcross and Dundee for SSEN Transmission. However, Andrew has recently been based in Nepal as a volunteer, in the 11th most earthquake-prone country in the world, where he supported the rebuild of a school in a remote community.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that when the earth shook on 25th April 2015, the lives of many Nepalis changed forever. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre in Gorkha, claimed more than 9,000 lives and displaced millions. More than a decade on, homes are still being rebuilt and infrastructure continues to be restored.

The project Andrew was recently involved in was a school rebuild in a very rural part of Nepal. The scale of destruction caused by the earthquake was immense and, when combined with heavy annual monsoon rains that continue to erode the land, much of the country’s infrastructure remains in recovery. In 2015, around 30,000 classrooms across 8,304 schools were destroyed or damaged.

Andrew commented: “My motivation for travelling to Nepal on 15 December 2025 was to use my skills in a more meaningful way to support communities in need. It has certainly been a distinct shift, as the construction methods are far more basic than what we are used to back home. While I am not officially volunteering as an engineer, my background has been valuable in understanding local techniques and, at times, helping to guide other volunteers on site.”
 

He added: “This is my first trip to Nepal and my first time working with the charity, All Hands and Hearts. Now that the project has been handed over, I am trekking with some of the volunteers for a couple of weeks before my time in Nepal comes to an end in mid-April. It has been such a good experience, and I am certain that I will be signing up to volunteer for more of their projects in the future.”