Bring healthcare to thousands in rural Nepal

Dear friends,

It has been four months since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, taking more than 8,000 lives and impacting countless others. The effect the quake has had on the remote villages served by Himalayan HealthCare (HHC) has been devastating with more than 600 deaths reported in the region and thousands without shelter after their homes, schools and health clinics have collapsed.

To see more than 23 years of community development work literally fall to pieces has been heartwrenching. The Timla Dormitory--inaugurated by HHC just days before the earthquake--was leveled. The dormitory had been built by HHC to provide shelter and a safe space to study for students who must otherwise walk four hours each day, or sleep in the surrounding woods, to attend school. Livestock--a significant source of sustenance and livelihood in northern Dhading--were lost and crops ruined.

But HHC’s two decades in the villages of Tipling, Sherthung, Lapa and more recently Jharlang have not been in vein. Our team’s knowledge of the region and its reputation among the Dhading government and population allowed HHC to provide immediate relief to these remote, hard-to-reach villages and to serve as a trusted local partner to a number of international aid organizations. 

Within 24 hours of the earthquake, HHC had seven metric tons of food and a medical relief team in Dhading. Within ten days, HHC had:

• Donated generators to the district administration to reestablish power and telephone service to facilitate disaster relief; 
• Equipped the 25-bed district hospital so it was capable of carrying out surgery; 
• Secured 40 metric tons of food, one and a half metric tons of medicines and three metric tons of non-food supplies including tents and blankets; 
• Placed two medical teams in two isolated and badly hit villages; 
• Sent a surveillance team of engineers to assess damage in northern Dhading; and 
• Helped organize communities in four northern Dhading villages to fix trails so that long-term relief and rebuilding can be carried out more efficiently. 

HHC has also assisted with the logistics for NYC Medics, AmeriCares and GlobalMedic and has been selected as the local partner for World Food Programme to carry out ongoing food relief and livestock replenishment in northern Dhading.

Given the scope of the damage, HHC is continuing to lead long-term relief and rebuilding efforts in the villages it has served for 23 years as well as surrounding areas. This includes, but is not limited to: 

• Rebuilding 30 schools using materials and processes that will reduce casualties in the event of a future earthquake;
• Overseeing government-mandated relocation of certain villages; 
• Supervising reconstruction of more than 2,400 homes;
• Ensuring new structures have appropriate toilets and clean cookstoves to promote public health; 
• Rehabilitating agricultural and livestock programs that have been affected by the earthquake; and
• Ensuring children are able to continue with their schooling by providing temporary facilities. 

HHC’s earthquake relief efforts are directly supporting more than 35,000 individuals.

Our relief work has been publicly endorsed by New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo and supported by more than 1,000 individuals around the world as well as GlobalGiving, Brother’s Brother Foundation, American Jewish World Service, AmeriCares and many other institutional donors. 

We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of concern and generosity and we invite you to follow updates on our relief efforts via our website.

Thank you for your support as we continue to rebuild communities and restore hope to the people of Nepal. 

Sincerely, 

Christina Madden 
US Director, Himalayan HealthCare

Links:

• Himalayan HealthCare's Earthquake Relief Photo Gallery
• Himalayan HealthCare's Earthquake Relief Updates