Bring healthcare to thousands in rural Nepal

Namaste friends, 

It has been one year since a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal and turned our lives upside down. In total, the earthquake claimed more than 9,000 lives and destroyed upwards of 770,000 homes, 50,000 classrooms and 1,000 health posts. 

We were further challenged last fall when a five-month blockade along the border with India severely limited our access to fuel, cooking oil, medicines and other crucial supplies. Prices of basic necessities skyrocketed and daily life for Nepalis, still reeling from the earthquake, became nearly unbearable. 

Your generosity has gotten us through this difficult year. While coming to terms with the destruction of more than two decades of community development work has not been easy, we are heartened by the outpouring of concern, compassion and support we’ve received. Friends came together from all corners of the globe to raise funds and share stories about Himalayan HealthCare. We’ve received donations from high schools, ski clubs, medical offices, breweries, music schools, law firms and more.

To date, you’ve helped us raise nearly $2 million for earthquake relief and recovery operations. You’ve helped us provide food, shelter, clean water and emergency services to tens of thousands of victims in some of the most hard-to-reach parts of the country. We've given livestock and restored livelihood to hundreds of households and we're working to rebuild health posts, a district hospital and twenty schools that were destroyed in the earthquake.  

Together we are rebuilding stronger communities, with earthquake resilient buildings, health clinics with world-class capabilities and schools designed with students’ learning needs in mind. 

At the same time, we have continued to carry out our core programs, hosting clinics at our Ilam hospital, employing women artisans with dignified work, supporting scholarships for outstanding students to attend advanced technical trainings and developing clean water solutions for the remote villages of northern Dhading.

We are grateful to our institutional funders, including AmeriCares, Brother’s Brother Foundation, United Nations World Food Programme, GlobalGiving and the dozens of family and community foundations who have been critical in supporting this work. 

And we applaud our staff and volunteers in Nepal who, despite their own personal traumas, have worked day in and day out to make sure they get help to those who need it most.

With all this in mind, it’s important for us to let you know that Nepal still needs your help. 

The earthquake put more than 1 million children out of school. Many still don’t have a place where they can retreat to their studies, interact with their peers and talk with their teachers to process the profound changes and loss they’ve just experienced.

To that end, Himalayan HealthCare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal's Department of Education and we are working with the remote villages of Tipling, Sherthung and Lapa to rebuild 20 schools. We are in the process of raising $3 million for this endeavor. 

In all of the darkness and chaos of this past year, we are hopeful that this will be an opportunity to not just rebuild structures but to revamp Nepal's approach to rural education with teacher trainings and greater emphasis on critical thinking and question-based learning. You can help us make this a reality. 

We would like to ask all of you to consider donating to Himalayan HealthCare in the name of one of these schools. 

If you cannot give now, there are other ways to help. You can host a crafts sale with our fair trade artisanal products, spread the word about our e-commerce, www.jeevankala.com, or join us on our Fall 2016 trek. Everything counts and we encourage you to reach out to our US Director, Christina Madden, with ideas on how you can help.

We are grateful for your friendship and thank you again for your support during this trying year.

Best regards, 
Anil Parajuli

Links:

• HHC relief efforts covered by Kathmandu Post
• International, Pittsburgh relief efforts still needed in Nepal