As some of you know my wife and I are working with Nepalese friends in the US and in Nepal to raise funds in order to buy necessities - blankets, tents (especially tents), medicine and food, though so far the latter is not so much a problem as getting it to people. My wife Davika Acharya has been especially active - she and our Nepalese friends in Fremont have sent off many 50 lbs. boxes of clothes, blankets, flashlights, over-the-counter medicine, energy drinks and so on.
Our efforts for fundraising are being focused in two areas: 1) via our friend and guide for Alta Vista Treks, Krishna Poudel (he and I opened the company seven years ago) we are buying emergency essentials and packing them in to Gorkha, the hardest-hit area and the epicenter of the earthquake. Roads have become impassable, and there are not enough helicopters to cover the entire area, so much of the necessities need to be brought in on foot. I have been to the area a couple of times, in the foothills of the Manaslu Himal, and as with all hill areas in Nepal, it is lush and steep - hard to believe that people live and cultivate the land on such vertiginous slopes, ranging from the lowest at around 500 meters up to 300 meters. Most of these little villages have been flattened. Krishna is organizing and overseeing the purchase and delivery of essentials to this area - he just left Pokhara yesterday on another delivery. And 2) we will be focusing on aid and rebuilding in the Godawari area of Lalitpur (Patan) in the Kathmandu Valley. This traditional village, my wife's hometown so to speak is nestled in the hills just on the south side of the valley at around 1600 meters. Almost all of the villages are subsistence farmers, and around half of the village, if not more, has homes that were either severely damaged or destroyed. They are doing all right for the moment for food, but need tents.
All areas have to begin rebuilding soon. The monsoon will start in four to six weeks - it could begin sooner, and the pre-monsoon has been unusually rainy this year.
My thanks to Daniele Tosi, Gabriel McGuire, Philip Enns and Scott Harrison for their generous contributions. We look forward to raising more funds, as rebuilding Nepal will take a massive effort. I thank you for your help.
Our efforts for fundraising are being focused in two areas: 1) via our friend and guide for Alta Vista Treks, Krishna Poudel (he and I opened the company seven years ago) we are buying emergency essentials and packing them in to Gorkha, the hardest-hit area and the epicenter of the earthquake. Roads have become impassable, and there are not enough helicopters to cover the entire area, so much of the necessities need to be brought in on foot. I have been to the area a couple of times, in the foothills of the Manaslu Himal, and as with all hill areas in Nepal, it is lush and steep - hard to believe that people live and cultivate the land on such vertiginous slopes, ranging from the lowest at around 500 meters up to 300 meters. Most of these little villages have been flattened. Krishna is organizing and overseeing the purchase and delivery of essentials to this area - he just left Pokhara yesterday on another delivery. And 2) we will be focusing on aid and rebuilding in the Godawari area of Lalitpur (Patan) in the Kathmandu Valley. This traditional village, my wife's hometown so to speak is nestled in the hills just on the south side of the valley at around 1600 meters. Almost all of the villages are subsistence farmers, and around half of the village, if not more, has homes that were either severely damaged or destroyed. They are doing all right for the moment for food, but need tents.
All areas have to begin rebuilding soon. The monsoon will start in four to six weeks - it could begin sooner, and the pre-monsoon has been unusually rainy this year.
My thanks to Daniele Tosi, Gabriel McGuire, Philip Enns and Scott Harrison for their generous contributions. We look forward to raising more funds, as rebuilding Nepal will take a massive effort. I thank you for your help.
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