Nearly 4,000 are dead from the intense earthquake and avalanche. For many Nepalese, the fight for survival has just begun:
A family takes shelter on a sidewalk in the Kathmandu city centre.
They need warm blankets and shelter from the elements. But even more crucially, first they need clean water:
A young girl plays with a plastic bottle in an evacuation area set up by the authorities in Tundikhel park in Kathmandu.
“I think 100% of people in Kathmandu are not inside their homes.”
A first-hand account courtesy of the humanitarian aid organization CARE:
Santosh Sharma, an emergency response coordinator with CARE in Nepal, said a few homes in his Kathmandu neighborhood lost walls or crumbled to the ground. Sharma rushed to help two people injured in the rubble. “Their houses completely collapsed,” Sharma said. “They had bad wounds and were bleeding. We took them to the nearest health center where they got first aid.”
…
Sharma said compound walls that ring homes near him collapsed into the streets, making the job of emergency responders even more difficult. And as darkness descended on the capital Saturday, families were gathered out in the streets, afraid to re-enter their homes for fear that aftershocks would send them tumbling to the ground as well.
“I think 100% of people in Kathmandu are not inside their homes,” Sharma said.
“Everyone is outside with no tents or blankets. This are very difficult conditions for women, children and elderly people. It’s very cold for them, and the aftershocks just keep coming for hours. Everyone is afraid to go indoors, so we will all sleep outside in the cold tonight.”
A resident cries while speaking on the phone under her tent in an evacuation area in Tundikhel park.
What YOU can do right now — right this minute:
- Give to CARE, UNICEF, or Oxfam, all good choices that use the money for a variety of first-response emergency needs.
- Give to Habitat for Humanity International
- Get clean, potable water to the Nepalese earthquake victims posthaste through Waves for Water.
We don’t usually beg people to share our posts, but in this case, we’ll make an exception. Please, please, please take one of the actions above (if you can) and ask your friends to do the same.
“I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”
