Nepal Earthquake, 2015

11:56 NST, 25 April 2015- the day that no Nepalese want to remember. An earthquake of 7.8 moment magnitude shook the nation. The death toll as of 29th April 2015 reached 6100 (which may reach 10 thousand), and number of casualties are more than ten thousand. Thousands of houses collapsed and people became homeless in a fraction of second. This was the second powerful strike since 1934. I am a Nepal-born US citizen visiting my country on leave to attend my sister’s wedding and meet my parents. While the earthquake was a scary and a nerve breaking experience, I feel its better for me being here with my parents during this hard time. My grandmother (mother’s mom) who currently lives in a village called Nuwakot with her family about 60 miles northwest of Kathmandu, is one of the victims of this major earthquake. The whole village is badly affected. About 75% of the houses in the village are collapsed. She lost her home too. After five days of the quake, there is no government presence yet, and no rescue team has arrived there either. Villagers are facing a horrific situation. Injured people still waiting for cure, children and elderly people like my grandmother are suffering from cold and rain. The disaster has already happened, but it doesn’t stop there. There are many post-disaster risks. We know that the situation only gets worse in the weeks following the event, as hospitals become overwhelmed, basic supplies become scarce and those living in temporary shelters succumb to exposure and disease. I am seeing in news everywhere that Nepal is receiving many international aids, but because of the poor management from government, affected people from villages have not been helped with anything yet. It’s very sad that after five days of the disaster people are still living helpless. What can we expect from a government- where the prime minister took 4 days after the incident to deliver his speech of emergency. I want to take an initiative to establish a facebook page, targeting my friend circle to donate whatever they can from their wish to help my grandmother to build her new house. I will handover it to her, whatever money is collected. Anything will help her and her family in this hard time.