UPDATE 5
We gave uploaded some new photos on our page. These photos were taken on October 2nd in village of Piskar, above town of Barhabise, Sindupalchowk, approx 7,500 ft above sea level. No visible help has come to any of the Thami Dalits, whose homes collapsed in the May 2015 Earthquake. Dalits, considered the lowest caste in the Nepali caste system have not received the required aid due to discrimination and this is clearly visible in Piskar where aid and cooperation has been scarce. We propose to provide zinc to erect shelters ahead of winter (first snowfall starts usually by end November) for 30+ homes, and provide some materials to help finish some other shelters. Thereafter, we hope we can provide blankets and winter clothing for these survivors, who some locals refer to as Untouchables. Some may also need foodstuff. There is no road, here, just mud track of 6 kms that takes 2.5 hours by 4 WD and although the task is challenging, we are confident we can help these people and make them feel cared for and not Untouchable.
Needed S$20,000 for these families and we humbly hope that your further support can help change these lives.
With a heavy heart, we thank you.
UPDATE 4
After two trips to Nepal, we are happy to inform that we have disbursed a first tranch of funding amounting to a total of 11,500 SGD. This funding was provided to Kunchowk in Sindhupalchowk which was greatly affected in the quake. We provided zinc sheets to 150 families in the region to facilitate creating temporary shelters for them. Our assessment of the situation found that the communities had received little aid so far and were able to contract temporary shelters but lacked the resources. Additionally, we distributed rice, lentils, salt and cooking oil to 450 families in the region. This was to provide temporary relief to the affected people. In addition, we also had temporary shelters constructed in Kotgain and Bistachap for some of these families. While most of the funding was directly deployed to purchase these resources, a small amount was spent on transportation of goods and providing basic necessities for the local team residing in the villages to help with contraction of shelters.
In July, additional funds were donated to build septic water tanks for refugees living in zinc shelters. As the population residing in these temporary shelters grow, maintaining clean water and sanitation was proving difficult. The septic tank will hopefully provide for an effective medium to store and distribute clean water and avoid diseases. While we are still working on collating the necessary documents to provide a more detailed breakdown of the funding, we felt it was important to update our donors on how their generosity is affecting lives. We will continue to provide more details. As always, there is still a lot to be done and we can continue to further the cause and help more people. This wouldn't be possible without all your support.
With a heavy heart, we thank you.
UPDATE 3
Our survey team of engineer and project director will be going to Nepal in early June to survey damaged orphanages, shelters, schools, etc in Sindupalchok District, This region suffered the most damage from both earthquakes. We thank our many friends who have linked us to their contacts in schools, orphanages and remote villages that need help. S$100 can buy 10 zinc sheets and nails, with delivery to remote areas. So we plan to facilitate distribution of zinc that can be used immediately as monsoon shelter. Then after monsoon, when rubble is cleared and re-building begins, the zinc sheets will be re-used as roofing. LCD already has experience with this "shelter to roofing" elsewhere in the mountainous region of South Asia. We will also try to promote use of simple solar bottle bulb to provide lighting in the shelters. Many remote places do not have electricity. We appreciate all your support and continue to work towards making this happen.
With a heavy heart, we thank you.
UPDATE 2
There was another massive earthquake in Nepal today. I am reading at least 20 dead within 3 hours. A five story building in Kathmandu has just collapsed. There have been two confirmed landslides in Sindhupalchowk, a region devasted by the first earthquake. We are hearing reports the entire villages in Solukhumbu (the district of Epicenter, near Mt. Everest) have been destroyed.
The situation just got a whole lot tougher. We need even more support from the people if we, as a nation, are to survive this. Please do continue to support our page. We are also looking to identify partners for immediate relief although our primary focus remains on rebuilding for long term stability. Please reach out to us if you have any questions on
https://www.facebook.com/ashutosh.khetan.7
For the survivors.
With a heavy heart, we thank you.
Regards
Pat, Ashutosh, Biraj, Eishan and Himanshu
UPDATE 1
There is an often ignore part of helping people: an impact that lasts longer than your presence.
As of 11:56 NST, April 25, Nepal was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in recent times. An earthquake shook Nepal for almost a minute with amplitudes hitting 7.8 on the richter scale. Over 7000 people have died as a result and the number is expected to climb higher. My country is facing a terrible battle, one to help the injured, one to overcome the sorrow, one to rebuild from the ashes, one to care of the survivors.
Currently, there are a lot of INGOs and governments sending relief to Nepal and they have done amazing work. However, even though we have reason to be happy, we have equal reason to be concerned. Imagine, if it took all of the world to provide temporary respite in this time of need, how much will it take to rehabilitate the survivors.
We have lost over 7000 people and we mourn them solemnly. But, if we continue mourning for too long, we will lose even more. It is time for action, and we need to think of those who survived. People have lost all of their families, their homes, their children and their means of livelihood. Sending a loaf of bread might feed them today, but won't save them from starvation tomorrow. The media attention on Nepal has already started to wane and given another week or two, it will shift completely. The tragedy will cease to exist in the public consciousness. Who will feed the hungry then?
The hungry will feed themselves.
One of the cornerstones of sustainable aid to equip the locals with infrastructure or means of livelihood so that they can survive even when the supporting organisations are no longer there. Through the Survivors fund, we will focus on either one or two villages that have been badly affected. And try and restore critical infrastructure or livelihood means depending on the communities need.
We are actively working on identifying Local NGOs to partner with. We firmly believe that their awareness of the situation on the ground, their commitment to long term residence and will to do good make them preferred partners over INGOs. In the interest of efficiency and transparency, we are also partnering with Pat Loh of Life! Community Development Ltd. Pat has experience executing 14 projects for the Singapore Red Cross and can specialises in restoring livelihood.
Together, with you, we plan to raise S$ 40,000 and use it to fund projects on the ground that will help survivors recover from this disaster in the long run.
With a heavy heart, we thank you for helping us.
- We, the Nepalese
