How You Can Help Nepal’s Earthquake Victims
Source: Care Canada
Canada is one of the best humanitarian nations around the world. One of Aspire-Canada’s very own mentors Gillian Barth, CEO of Care Canada is at the forefront of Canada’s humanitarian efforts in Nepal. It’s a tremendous task. The death toll from Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has risen to 2,500, according to CBC News. It’s the area’s worst earthquake in years, and the avalanche it triggered on Mount Everest, killing 18, was the mountain’s worst disaster. Now, even as powerful aftershocks rock the surrounding areas — with one on Sunday morning measuring at 6.7 — relief agencies such as Care Canada are on the ground in Kathmandu and the surrounding villages and cities. There’s still an opportunity for you to get involved by donating.
Source: CBC News
Care Canada
According to the Care Canada website, CARE’s emergency specialists from across the world, including a Canadian, are now on their way to Nepal, and CARE has over 150 staff in Nepal already working in the majority of the most affected districts. CARE Canada has joined partner agencies in the Canadian Humanitarian Coalition to launch an urgent appeal for funds to help those hit by this devastating earthquake.CARE’s emergency response coordinator in Kathmandu, Santosh Sharma, said earthquake survivors have spent the night gripped with fear due to severe aftershocks. “Almost everyone has slept outside and they are creating temporary shelters with what they have. I am seeing women and children suffering a lot…they are living outside their homes and fear going inside,” Sharma said. “There is no electricity, and soon there will be a scarcity of water. People have been pooling their resources together, but there will soon be problems with food and with water.” Sharma said the needs in response to this catastrophe would be immense, and CARE staff on the ground were now putting plans in place to assist up to 75,000 people with temporary shelter, ready-to-eat meals, water purification and toilet construction. It is still possible to donate to the Care Canada Campaign here.
Internationally, there are other mobilization efforts underway.
— The Global Fund for Women has grantee programs on the ground in the area that specifically support women and children. Those are the people most vulnerable during such disasters, as shelter and food become scarce.
— The Nepal Red Cross headquarters is still up and running, according to the International Red Cross, and has already set up temporary shelters and is providing drinking water and food to victims. It sounds like the organization will be in need of help with its efforts: “Currently NRCS has around 17,000 sets of [non-food relief items] in its warehouses in Kathmandu Valley and limited stock of WASH kits and food items in Kathmandu Valley which may not be sufficient to fulfill the need of temporarily displaced population (around 1.6 million people) for Kathmandu Valley.”
You can also start your own fundraising efforts on the Aspire-Canada crowdfunding platform for humanitarian causes that are dear to you.