Mero Dhangadhi

Nepal has been and is still getting HUNDREDS of aftershocks after the initial quake. Just the other day, I was talking to my grandfather on Skype and all of a sudden he said “Eh bhuichalo ayo” (there’s an earthquake), and he ran off as we sat there watching the furniture in the room move around for a couple minutes. It was very nerve wrecking to just sit there and watch everything swaying. The situation is still very fragile.

Rescuers and relief workers have been working very hard to help people out but there are still so many that are in need of more aid. However, I’m going to ask you to be cautious as some people without the proper knowledge or credentials have been pretending to be relief workers. Some Nepali guy came to my grandparent’s home a few days ago with a random white dude calling themselves “engineers”. They spewed some utter bullshit about the “difference between east to west earthquakes vs north to south earthquakes” and “the difference in property damage caused by the different directions of earthquakes”. Now I must tell you that this is absolutely false information and there is no such thing as east to west or north to south earthquakes. These scammers kept giving them false information and terrible advice that could potentially be life threatening.

If you have family in Nepal please ask them to check people’s IDs to see if they are professionals working either for the government or some reputable organization and note down their information. Engineers are bound by a lot of laws and if in the future, it turns out you were lied to, you can file a lawsuit against them and they will be held accountable. This is a highly sensitive situation with people’s lives on the line and I cannot believe there are idiots going around and spreading false information. Please, let your families and loved ones in Nepal know about these scammers.

Please donate to reliable and accountable charities.

ghyukumari:

My friends, family, and I have been impacted by the earthquake in Nepal. I can’t explain to you how helpless we feel living abroad safely while our families suffer back home. If you don’t already know it, yes, there are still small aftershocks rippling through Nepal. Our government is inefficient and disorganized, leaving a lot of foreign aid such as food to waste in a time when people need it the most. The foreign aid that we’ve gotten, however, will not help Nepal recover fully. 

I regret that I didn’t reach out to the tumblr community sooner but it’s been so hectic for me the past few weeks trying to stay in contact with family, trying to raise awareness in my community and school, and dealing with finals. It hasn’t been easy for me but I know it’s a million times worse in Nepal right now.

If you can, I encourage you all to donate to the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund through the Global Giving website: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund/

The reason I stress this fund and not others is that it focuses both on short term, immediate relief and also long term relief. The fund provides the donations to already functioning, local grass-roots organizations in Nepal. These organizations are run by Nepali people and empower the people to Nepal to impact their own change on their community. This is so very important because when foreign aid and rescue workers leave, it will be up to the people of Nepal to rebuild for the better. A list of the organizations involved can be found on the donation page. 

But this fund will also deliver donations to immediate relief organizations such as UNICEF because at the moment, immediate relief is priority. Additionally, donating through the Global Giving website, which is a registered 501©3 charity, ensures that an average of 90% of donations received will go straight to projects on the ground. Every crowdfunding and fundraising website (such as indiegogo and etc.) charges a platform fee plus additional processing charges and this can result in only a small amount of your money going where it actually needs to go. So please be careful when deciding where to donate to. Global Giving also provides reports and updates on what your donation is being used for here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund/updates/

I’m a bit numb at the moment and I’ve been trying to avoid the news and my parents during their phone calls to family back home. I don’t think I can truly express how I feel, and how I’ve been feeling these past few days. I will update regularly with stories from back home because people need to know. People need to know the amount of damage these earthquakes have caused and that yes there are real people who have been effected. 

cerro-torre:

Gokyo

Everest Region, Himalayas, Nepal, 2008

Post it for Nepal

tabforacause:

After a second deadly earthquake, Nepal needs our help now more than ever. The publicity around the earthquakes may be fading, but the healing is just beginning. We encourage you to keep donating your hearts on Tab for a Cause to Save the Children and to visit their website to learn more about what can be done to help the millions of children effected by this disaster. 

unicef:

“The most important thing to me is shelter. Our rental house totally collapsed,” says Sayera. She and her baby began living in an informal camp following the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on 25 April, leaving over 7,000 people dead and destroying nearly 191,000 houses. Another earthquake – measuring 7.3 in magnitude – struck the country yesterday, complicating recovery efforts that had only recently begun. 1.7 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance - requiring clean water, shelter, sanitation. © UNICEF/NYHQ2015-1066/Nybo

earthstory:

Watching a pool slosh back and forth during the Gorkha quake is pretty amazing.

Amazing? Try terrifying. I think this was during one of the aftershocks or the Namche quake in Kathmandu.

sublim-ature:

Manaslu Mountains, Nepal
Mohan Duwal

afp-photo:

NEPAL, DHADING : Nepalese farmers winnow wheat after harvesting in the village of Ebi in Dhading district some 60kms north-west of Kathmandu on May 11, 2015. The April 25, 2015 disaster completely destroyed 288,798 houses nationwide in Nepal while 254,112 homes were partially damaged, according to the Himalayan country’s National Emergency Operation Centre. Large areas of Kathmandu were turned into piles of rubble and almost two weeks on from the 7.8-magnitude quake thousands are still living in makeshift tents in the capital. AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH MATHEMA