Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund for my Village !

My dear friends & friends of Nepal.

My name is Prem Lama a UW Green Bay, graduate married with two little children and one on the way, living in Door County, Wisconsin.

As you all know the earthquake that shook Nepal this past Saturday the April 25 of 2015 left with close to 5000 people dead & counting. 100s of 1000s of homes are destroyed.

I grew up just 100 miles north of Kathmandu in a region of Helambu. Helambu is comprised of 3 mountain districts, where reaching by transportation is difficult right now. Most of the pictures you see on this blog are from few populated areas of this region. There are 100s of other similar villages are in this region and all faced the same situation. I spent most of my childhood & schooling in this region. No single person that I know of is left unaffected from this mega earthquake. Everyone is suffering one way or the other.

After few hours of earthquake news I was able to get hold of my family. I was so happy to hear they were all safe. However, no one sounded normal, feeling of chaos everywhere. Almost like in a Hollywood movies but only this time it was real. I had no words to suggest nor in the position to give any advice. Only thing kept me going was that my family members were safe but still not knowing the suffering of numerous other relatives & lives of many Nepalese was just as unsettling. Then after that for 2 days I couldn't get hold of no one due to the busy network or down completely. Once again, I was left with hopeless feeling.

Since the earthquake started social media has been flooded with Nepal news. When we live in a social & global community, one cannot not notice the devastation that Nepal is facing. My parents, sister & her family & many others are living under tents. My village is destroyed, many of my relatives have lost their homes and livestock. In this quake villages suffered the most as the homes are built with only mud and rocks. I just spoke with a cousin of mine and he mentioned, there is no relief aids, people are running out of food and basic supplies, no medicine, there are many still injured and fighting for their lives. Roads are damaged so it is hard to get to these villages. In my district alone 80% of the houses just turned into a rubble. Every one of my friends have similar stories, one in particular paints picture,

   “We are safe and well. My grandmothers old house where she lived collapsed completely, but she is safe. My apartment has cracks on the wall and we do not know if we can live there or not. We are currently in my parents house, which is safe. The garden portion has been our camping area since yesterday.

I have experienced numerous earthquakes but nothing like this one. I followed the earthquake drill but when the wall in front of me started moving in circular motion going left and then right, the floor on which i was standing moved front and back like a rocky sea, and furniture falling and glasses breaking all around me it felt as though is this the end.

We are still experiencing aftershocks, I stopped counting after 35 aftershocks and it is still continuing. Hopefully it will stop now as It has been a couple of hours since the last aftershock. I am hoping we all will come out better and stronger as a community after experiencing this magnitude of nature’s wrath.

We were face to face with our fears, learned our lessons through tears, and made memories we know will never fade. The well wishes coming our way is keeping us safe.” Avigya Karki

My parents' make shift tents in Kathmandu.

So, I have decided to help in my own way. At least if I can help bring basic supplies via my friends in Kathmandu, I would find some sense of relief as I cannot do anything else. Devastation is everywhere. There is no one place left untouched. One cannot help everywhere but have to start somewhere, which I have decided to help my own village. I hear there is no help there. All the rescue mission is a mess, all the international community, who are there to help are scattered around bigger cities. Nepal government is overwhelmed by this chaos. My village needs my help hence yours. I am setting up a paypal.

Initially I created this paypal for my business and since I am using it, I am going to use as a venue to receive the fund via this account. This fund will be sent to a School in my village, in these villages, School plays a very important role to coordinate the situation. Many of my relatives and friends are still there, I still do not know the entire information but within few days, I will be able to collect few more information. I have been in touch with some of the folks in the village. The plea for help is clear. I want to send the help to the schools that way, it will go to the right cause and the right place. Please, donate what you can. If you have already donated for this cause, you do not have to but if you want to we will accept it. If you don't feel comfortable, it is up to you, no worries. I however urge you strongly as this is my own effort to help them directly rather than going through different organizations. Every dollar counts. Every Nepali who are outside the country are helping however the way they can. I feel, it is my duty and responsibility to make this happen for my fellow Nepalese & poor mother country, who is going through this pain. Thank you for lending a hand. You will know the the progress or the use of the fund via this blog in the future. 

Namaste

Prem Lama

"Love & compassion are necessities, not luxury, without them humanity will not survive", HH Dalai Lama

Many of the survivors of the Nepal earthquake are stranded in remote, rural areas where real help has yet to get through.ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers managed to reach the badly-stricken mountain village of Ghyampesal, 44 miles northwest of Kathmandu today.
Posted by ITV News on Tuesday, April 28, 2015