Shrestha family in Nepal

On Saturday 25th April 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal followed by numerous aftershocks which has caused devastation in a country where infrastructure is not advanced and 80% of new buildings are built informally without engineering expertise. The strength of the quake has completely destroyed communities and the death toll is still rising and will continue to do so until rescuers can reach remote areas which have been completely cut off restricting aid mobility.    

Ashmita Shrestha is a friend of mine living in London and her family are from Nepal. The Shrestha family are a family of six from a village called Budhanilkantha, located approximately 10 kilometres outside of Kathmandu. It has been severely affected by the earthquake and their family home has been completely destroyed. Fortunately they were not in the house at the time the quake struck so they are alive, but are now living in a communal tent in the main square of the village awaiting aid to get into the village as the main highway has been ruined limiting access.

House insurance does not exist in scenarios like this and of the family only the sister (Paveeta aged 33 years) was working before the disaster struck. Ashmita's father (Purna Lal) is disabled and so unable to work and also her mother (Budhimaya) has a medical condition that means she is not able to work. Her two brothers (Manoj & Sanoj) have been looking for work but jobs are few and far between in the region.  

The task of rebuilding a house must seem an impossible achievement for them right now. Now for them it is just a question of survival and getting food and basic shelter for day to day existence but we want to try and give them some hope for the future and raise some funds to bring them back from the brink of despair.

We are all aware of how badly the country has been hit but this is an opportunity to bring direct help to one particular family without money being diluted through charities and for which you can directly be updated of their progress. We aim to reach various milestones for funding and hope that you might be able to give something no matter how large or small towards helping to reconstruct their lives after this disaster.  

If we reach £600.00 a family member from the UK will be able to get out to the village to help with their physical presence to start clearing area of destruction.  

If we reach £1,000.00 this will help towards clearance of the site and making safe for reconstruction.  

If we reach £5,000.00 this will be sufficient to purchase building materials and create a foundation for the house to be built upon.   

If we reach £10,000.00 this will enable reconstruction to commence and allow the main structure of the house to be put back in place.  

Please give generously, a small donation from us will go a long way and could potentially be life saving / changing for these people who have been struck by the greatest misfortune by no fault of their own. Time is also very much of the essence so please don't hesitate and think over it, we need your help right now!