Today, we’re grieving with our friends and colleagues in Nepal.
As you may have heard, a powerful earthquake struck northern Nepal on Friday, November 3, with aftershocks following in the days since. The epicenter was in Jajarkot, a district we’ve been working in with Helvetas for the past five years.
We are grateful to report that our local partner teams are safe. However, early reports show considerable damage: More than 150 people have died, many structures have collapsed, and some roads have been blocked by landslides, making search and rescue efforts challenging.
Prabin Manandhar, Country Director of Helvetas Nepal, shared, “The affected regions are among the poorest areas of Nepal. Winter is coming soon and it is already very cold at higher altitudes. The people will urgently need more help to get through the winter.”
While charity: water is not equipped to handle crisis response outside of providing emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene services within our active working areas and repairing any broken projects in communities we’ve supported, our local partner Helvetas is more than ready to answer the call.
Helvetas has been active in Nepal for almost 70 years. They have more than 200 local employees and connections with a robust network of local authorities and partner organizations, and can therefore act quickly.
We are always grateful to partner with incredible teams like Helvetas Nepal, but especially so in moments like these. We will remain in close contact in the days and weeks to come and will do all we can to support their efforts on the ground. If you would like to directly support Helvetas’ relief efforts, you can do so at
donorbox.org/helvetas-usa.
Photo: Keystone/AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha