Friday, May 1, 2015

Help BH Sister Yasmijn, help those in Nepal ....

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/misc/donate.aspx?c=NepalQuakeRelief

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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