To all of our amazing supporters,
This year was a tough year for Nepal and we couldn't have got through it without you. Your words of encouragement and your donations have meant a great deal to everyone here in Nepal during these scary times.
The earthquake killed over 9 000 people, injured more than 23 000 and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. It destroyed entire villages, triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing 19, and another in the Langtang Valley, where 250 people were reported missing. It destroyed centries-old buildings and UNESCO world heritage sites. After-shocks were felt regularly after the initial quake and landslides were a continuous risk, compounded with the monsoon season hitting. And experts have warned that for decades to come, Nepal will be vulnerable to another quake.
It has been devastating.
Your donations have provided hundreds of essential supplies like water and food, emergency kits and materials to start rebuilding homes and shelters. We have also replaced children's school supplies and helped put in place safe evacuation paths and procedures.
And we aren't done yet. The monsoon meant that we weren't able to carry on with re-building efforts, but we have been working with Himalayan Encounters and we have plans in place for rebuilding a local school. If you are interested in following our further progress, please click the links below where we will continue to post updates and report on our efforts.
Once again, we thank you for reaching our and helping us in our time of need.
With Gratitude,
GVI Nepal
Links:
Dear Supporter,
It is heart-warming to see that your donations continue to come in for the Nepal Earthquake relief. There is still so much work that needs to be done, and so many people that are still waiting for, and need, our assistance.
GVI in Nepal is helping in the relief work through our Nepalese partners Himalayan Encounters and Rural Heritage. In the past few months, the rebuilding efforts have ground almost to a halt due to the heavy monsoon rains. The rains have caused major landslides that have blocked roads and taken out bridges, leaving many people stranded. We are waiting for the end of the monsoon season to continue construction projects in earnest.
Here is a summary of what we have done in the past few months.
EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY KIT
Shortly after the second earthquake hit, we put together and distributed earthquake emergency kits for all of the GVI homestay households. The emergency kit which consists of medical supplies, food, water, shelter, tools and communication devices. The kit has provided people with a greater sense of security to the community members, staff and volunteers. It has also helped to ease the anxiety about how to act should another earthquake hit.
EMERGENCY GATE
We have helped to install an emergency gate at Sewa Kendra. The purpose of this gate is to provide a safer method of evacuating the school for the staff, students, and volunteers in case of an emergency. We worked with the school and a local tradesman to build a sliding metal gate so that everyone can exit the school to the nearby field for security. Our partners at Sewa Kendra are very happy to have this quick exit point for the students. Previously they had to negotiate through a narrow alley running alongside a very tall house. Exiting the school to the front gate could take over 30 seconds. With the new gate, everyone can assemble at a safe meeting point within 10 seconds.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Many students in the area where the second earthquake hit, Dolkha, have lost all of their books and school supplies and their families don’t have the funds for new stationery. So we put together 100 backpacks for the students at Shree Shankeni Lower Secondary School. Each backpack contained 10 copy books, 8 pencils, 8 pens and1 geometry box set. The students were very excited to receive their new backpack in order to carry their books to a temporary school to continue their education.
COMMUNITY SHELTER
In Barpak in the Gorkha district a community shelter was destroyed during the earthquakes. Along with our Nepalese partners, we have started a project to rebuild this shelter. Construction of the shelter has been put on hold until the monsoon ends due to the numerous and dangerous mudslides affecting the area. The community shelter is designed to benefit everyone in Barpak. It will be used for meetings, supplies and storage. The community are very happy and grateful to hear of our support as many organisations have stopped offering assistant.
SCHOOL PROJECT
Going forward, we have decided that we would like to support a primary school in the district of Nuwakot. The school was completely destroyed during the first earthquake and we would like to focus our efforts on a larger project now that the initial aid has been distributed. We will be working in partnership with Rural Heritage. We look forward to bringing you news of this project and how it progresses in the coming months.
It is amazing how we have been able to reassure, help and assist with different projects with the donation received, and for that we thank you.
Your generosity has touched thousands of lives and will continue to do so as rebuilding continues.
With Gratitude,
GVI Nepal
Links:
Dear Supporter,
On Saturday 4th July 2015 we loaded up a very large truck full of relief supplies for 100 families from Mahadeveshi, Dhading. GVI staff member Lok accompanied a team of Himalayan Encounters staff to oversee the distribution of the goods.
We researched along with our partners at Himalayan Encounters, which villages were still waiting for relief and found that Mahadeveshi was still lacking basic supplies. After a busy day, collecting and sorting materials, equipment and supplies, we had finally loaded the trucks up with all the supplies. This has been our largest relief donation to a village and the consisted of:
It was a huge challenge getting all of these supplies packed and sorted for 100 families and the truck was very heavy with the weight of all the tin and iron poles. Not to mention the 3,000kg of rice!
All of the families affected have a very low income and have lost their houses, farmlands and livestock. Monsoon season is well underway and the families desperately need to fix and build shelter to maintain their health and hygiene during this time. The whole community relies on income from digging and packing sand. This has become impossible to continue after the earthquakes and the village has unfortunately largely been ignored in relief efforts to date.
The aid was gratefully received by the villagers and we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has made this possible – the amazing fundraising efforts and, of course, our team on the ground who deliver the aid. We would also like to thank a past GVI volunteer who sent out water filters for the village.
The Nepali government is still overwhelmed and the relief is ongoing. The scale of the destruction is enormous and there is nobody who has been left unaffected. Your support is essential to help Nepal get back on its feet and we are still gathering donations.
Thank you for your generous and ongoing support.
With Gratitude,
GVI-Nepal
Links:
Dear Supporter,
We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received and the money that has been raised so far! Thank you so much for your donations and support during this difficult time in Nepal.
Care Packs
On Saturday, the 2nd of April, our team loaded up two trucks with supplies and headed for Phujel, Gorkha. One of our staff members, Lok, went with and accompanied a team from Himalayan Encounters to help oversee the distribution of goods to those in need.
The care packs consisted of goods that our volunteers spent the previous days collecting and putting together from a donoation stand set up outside of Himalayan Encounters.
Each care packs consisted of:
On the 8th of May, we were able to send out another two trucks to Kavre, which is one of the hardest hit areas and has received very little aid.
GVI Nepal Projects Update
In terms of our projects, everyone is back at work and helping to provide some comfort to our beneficiaries through the resumption of everyday life. Some of our volunteers helped to put together a presentation explaining what an earthquake is, methods for coping after a traumatic event and the importance of keeping up personal hygiene to reduce the spread of disease. So far, we have received a great response from the community and will continue to deliver these presentations over the next couple of weeks.
We still have a long road ahead of us with some experts expecting it to take 10 years for Nepal to get back on its feet. Our next phase after providing initial relief will be to contribute to the massive task of helping to rebuild Nepal.
Thank you for continued support.
All the best
GVI Nepal
Links:
WHAT GVI NEPAL POKHARA IS DOING NOW?
We have recently grouped together with well-known local entrepreneurs to gather as much donations as we possibly can. We believe that working closely with the locals will aid in the overall success of assisting those in need. Many people from surrounding areas including Sindhupalchok, Gorkha and Lamjung are not receiving the supplies they need in order to rebuild and start anew from this terrible disaster.
To assist in any way we can, our volunteers have been involved in numerous ways. Together we have created flyers to hand out to tourists and the Nepali people informing them of what we are in need of and also informing them of the two drop off points for the donations. We have volunteers stationed at these points so we can personally thank them for their help and support while also having some volunteers go into local cafés, hotels and simply just walking the streets and spreading the word about what we aim to do. With the donations we receive we are going through it all and organising it to make the distribution smoother for all involved, this way villages get donations appropriate for their individual need.
We are also creating first aid boxes with basic medical/hygiene supplies, included in these first aid boxes is another homemade flyer about general first aid tips and tricks - e.g. How to clean cuts, prevent diarrhoea and keeping drinking water safe and hygienic – these things often aren’t taught or are forgotten after such a terrible incident occurs. We hope that these health care flyers will prevent a number of sicknesses/illnesses that are common in the aftermath of natural disasters especially when not everyone has access to professional medical care.
Some volunteers went out to the area of Pame to assess the damage this week (28.04.2015), we were very thankful to hear that very minimal damage occurred in the area and only one of our students house was damaged. It was a great relief to the parents as the volunteers offered a distraction for the kids to think about something other than the earthquake for a while. It also gave the parents a break to be able to contemplate the earthquake and let down their guard for a moment and realise how lucky they were or to grieve for those friends and family lost. It shows just how critical it is to get back to our projects as soon as possible, as routine is an important step in getting back to normality.
Our main priority in our fundraising through the ‘Global Giving’ page is to raise money for tents and shelter. As monsoon season draws closer we really hope that people aren’t left to face the upcoming storms without any protection whatsoever. Nepal often faces landslides during the monsoon season, now with the recent earthquake fears are forming as to what’s to come during the reconstruction phase of Nepal.
Thank you for all donations please share our efforts and help us raise more funds to support Nepal after this terrible disaster.
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