Summary
The two earthquakes in Nepal in 2015 killed thousands of Nepalese and left survivors without shelter, food or water.
To help impacted communities, we facilitated tax efficient donations by Dutch donors for our Nepalese partner, the Yogdaan Foundation Nepal (YFN). Their humanitarian aid included providing shelters for families and income generation programmes for communities.
Background
In 2015 Nepal was struck by two devastating earthquakes, the Gorkha Earthquake, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April, and a subsequent 7.3 magnitude quake three weeks later.
There were over 9.000 fatalities and 22.000 people left injured. Over 800.000 homes were partially or fully destroyed. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and has minimal ability to fund major reconstruction independently. The majority of those affected were farmers and their families. The earthquake struck just two months before monsoon season, beginning in mid-June in Nepal, which made rapid and effective response critical to prevent greater loss and damage for those made homeless.
The Gorkha Earthquake had significant social impact on Nepalese society, especially children. Over 1.7 million children in need of drinking water, psychological counsel, shelter, sanitation, schooling, and protection from disease were driven from their homes. It was reported that girls had been exposed to sexual abuse in the camps and temporary shelters due to poor security conditions. Both women and children, who lost their families as a result of the earthquakes, were at high risk of being raped, trafficked and abused. (1)
For more information, please check out a 2015 article from Global Action Coalition, available at https://www.globalactioncoalition.org/nepal-earthquake-relief-2/
1 DW (2015) Nepal’s quake survivors face increased risk of trafficking. Available at http://www.dw.com/en/nepals-quake-survivors-face-increased-risk-of-trafficking/a-18599390 (8 March 2016)
Goals and Results
After facilitating tax efficient donations to help earthquake relief efforts, we received € 20.430 for our trusted local partner the Yogdaan Foundation Nepal. The proceeds were used to construct emergency shelters for families and set up income generating projects to help the affected communities start earning a living again.
