Nepal Earthquake

Kim and Dharma

You may have read in the news that Nepal suffered devastating earthquakes in April and May. I have several friends in Nepal who I’ve been trying to track down for over 5 months. I heard back from all of them except for my friend Dharma. I presumed he was dead but finally received an email from him 3 days ago. All of my friends survived but they have families with small children and every one of them lost their homes. Their entire villages and an orphanage were destroyed. Most of the people in Nepal support their families on the equivalent of $75 (£ 50 / € 67) a month and now they’ve lost their livelihoods as well. Despite what the news reports have said, not one of them has received any aid whatsoever. My friend Dharma and his family have been living in a remote village in a tent. It has been 5 months and they’ve had no way to contact the outside world; no phone, internet, electricity or running water. There are no buses or roads that can reach them. Everything must be carried into the mountains on the backs of sherpas or donkeys but many of the paths were blocked off by avalanches.

In the past few days, I have received 12 desperate emails. Those who survived the earthquake are now starving. Winter is coming and many of the villagers- elderly, babies, small children- have no tents, blankets or warm clothes and will freeze to death. They also need medical supplies. They don’t even have basic necessities like Aspirin and Bandages.

Dawa, Darren, Kim, and Dharma

They are human beings who love their children and friends just as much as you do. Imagine living with your children, cut off from the world with no money, no food, no water, and no shelter. Think about your pets with their comfortable beds to sleep in. They have a roof over their heads in a climate-controlled home. They have fresh food and water every day. They have medical care and some of them even have more clothing than the people in Nepal.

Dharma holding my hand during the
entire descent so I wouldn't fall

What I learned from my time in Nepal, was that the poorest people are the most generous and the most grateful for what little they have. They invited us into their homes, let us sleep in their beds, fed us the best of their food before feeding themselves. They kept us safe during an earthquake, a mudslide and got me medicine when I was sick.

You don’t need to buy anything new. Look around your homes at all the things you have. I’m sure you can spare a blanket, some winter clothes, bandages, medicine, sleeping bags, or a tent. You can also donate money to help them buy food. We have so much more than we need; iPhones, flat-screen TV’s, cars, and closets stuffed with clothes we never wear. So please don’t say you can’t afford to donate even $10 so a child won’t starve to death.

We've set up a Paypal account for you to easily make a donation. You can send your donation to the email address: donationsfornepal@gmail.com  You can also send an email to the same address if you'd like information about where to send a package.

If you were generous enough to donate to the Red Cross that’s wonderful but unfortunately, the aid never reached them. I have heard this same story from all of my friends in Nepal. None of them have received any help whatsoever. Not even a blanket. We are not the Red Cross. 100% of what you donate will go to feed these villagers and rebuild their homes and orphanage. None of it will go to a billionaire CEO.

                       

Dharma is one of the founding members of Grameen Clubhouse. They are the NGO my husband and I visited when we were in Grameen and I've been coordinating with them to help the villagers in Nepal. They are so grateful that people have not forgotten about them. If you want to learn more about their mission, you can visit www.grameenclubhouse.org. They are so ecstatic that we are sending help and emailed me these pictures of the villagers.   

   

                      

    

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