Beta Eta sisters,
We reached out to BH Alumna, Yasmijn who has lived in Nepal with her family, and whose husbands family still lives in Nepal. She shares heart wrenching before/after images, and offers suggestions for how to help below.
Dear Sisters –
I hope this note finds you well. As many of you know, my husband
(Pawan) is from Nepal. The devastating
7.8 Richter scale earthquake that hit Nepal this weekend has been very tragic.
While luckily my husband’s immediate family (parents, brother’s family and
sister’s family) are safe and sustained only property damage, many lives have
perished, including a dear friend, who lost both his brothers and their
families (total of 9, including five children).
We are heartbroken about our friends and family in Nepal who
are scared and cold, sitting outside wondering if there will be another
aftershock (50+ and counting), and fears of food and water shortages, and
spread of epidemics are just starting.
The death toll is approaching 5,500 but is expected in be in multiples
once all is accounted for, and damage to buildings and several UNESCO heritage
sites has not even been estimated at this point.
Many have asked us about the choice of our charities – we
have been working with SEBS – North America to raise funds. SEBS is Pawan’s
high school alumni association – since it is a 501(c) (3) charity, your
donations are tax-deductible. We are
using proceeds to (1) provide immediate medical relief (several ex-students are
already volunteering on the ground and been indicating that supplies are
finished), (2) food and shelter (as government / aid agencies are overwhelmed
with volume of displaced people), and (3) “leftovers” if any will be used to
educate orphaned children (in line with some of the other charity my school has
been involved with). Some of our
personal friends are already on the ground and some plan to go soon to assist
with the help. Please note that 100% of
the proceeds reaches victims (as this is all volunteer based and with no
overhead; in fact, we are also offsetting credit card and Paypal charges via
personal matching).
http://www.sebsonline.org/
We are also involved with Ama Foundation, which is a
grassroots US-based 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing
the most underprivileged children of Nepal with a loving home, education, and
healthy live, and is expected to provide home and education to many children
that will be orphaned because of this earthquake. I’m a board member and can
tell you firsthand the wonderful work this organization does.
http://www.ama-foundation.org/
We are hosting a benefit at our house this Friday at 8PM. If anybody lives in San Francisco/ Bay Area
or know somebody that would like to come, please let me know and I’ll forward the
information.
Please help spread the word!
Many thanks!
Yasmijn (Salim) Adhikari NM'97
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