In the Wake of the Nepal Earthquake Disaster, Sahayeta Rebuilds on Ground Level

Sahayeta.org, a nonprofit organization operating in the USA with roots in Nepal, is providing immediate and long term relief after the Nepal earthquake. Continue reading →

May 18, 2015 /prREACH/ -- San Bruno, CA - Sahayeta.org, a nonprofit organization operating in the USA with roots in Nepal, is providing immediate and long term relief after the Nepal earthquake.

On Saturday April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a magnitude-7.8 quake near the capital of Kathmandu flattening homes, buildings and temples, causing widespread damage across the region and killing more than 8000 people and impacting millions. As the death toll and the horror stories pile up, most people are at a loss on how to help Nepal.

Sahayeta.org has launched a fundraising effort with a hope to provide transparent, immediate and long-term relief to those afflicted. Volunteers are busy providing urgent relief to those affected by partnering with individuals and organizations in the Bay Area, Nepal and India to send food, clean water, tents, medicine and more. For now, Sahayeta.org has focused on Dhading & Sindhupalchok and will adopt other areas as it scales up. A video detailing all that Sahayeta.org is doing for Nepal can be seen on YouTube under Sahayeta Nepal, Nepal Earthquake Relief 2015: Fund Raising.

“Everybody who sees the earthquake disaster on television wants to do something. You can participate in the rebuilding Nepal post-earthquake by donating to this cause” says Nisha Thapa, Sahayeta Co-founder and Executive Director.

A team from Sahayeta.org will lead an on-the-ground needs assessment to evaluate effective approaches to help with recovery efforts, especially in and around the epicenter, where almost 90% of homes have been destroyed. Funds raised will not go towards the travel cost for the team - 100% of proceeds will go towards reconstruction efforts. After the assessment, the majority of resources will go to aiding local grassroots organizations that would not traditionally receive money from large donors.  These could include schools, health posts, women’s group, youth groups, farmers and others who are working on the ground and delivering the most impact.

Another focus is public health and safety in Nepal during the coming monsoon season. Volunteers will be partnering with public health organizations and local hospitals to support the mitigation of infectious diseases and public safety issues. This could be through providing safe water drinking, sending medical equipment and raising awareness about this issue.

Sahayeta’s plans for long term rebuilding efforts include rebuilding homes & schools, offering scholarships for students facing hardship, rehabilitation through access to proper medical care, creating economic opportunities for marginalized communities who have lost their sources of livelihoods

Mukhiya Gurung, a Sahayeta advisor volunteer, mentions that “Sahayeta is a non-political, non-religious organization that’s primarily driven to serve communities from the Himalayan regions.” Their goal is to support causes in the Himalayan region to further education, health, youth empowerment, social justice and now disaster relief.

Sahayeta strives to be a 100% transparent and accountable on how the funds are being utilized. The plan is to allocate funds in a way that 30% goes towards short term immediate relief while 70% goes for long term rebuilding efforts. While they exceeded their initial goal of raising $100K on Crowdrise, the volunteers at Sahayeta realize that the people in Nepal still need help badly and the fund raising will continue to run.

With good intentions, even small donations add up to do the greatest good. In the short time that Sahayeta has been providing help in Nepal, it has accomplished much in terms of short term immediate relief. It has provided shelter for up to 450 families that have been displaced, water filtration systems at relief centers that will support 1500 people, medicine supply of up to 2000 lbs.   For details they are posted on the Sahayeta website .   The organization is looking to provide a lot more additional temporary shelters within this week, which seems to be the most needed thing right now.   This is just the start.  People can donate on their Crowdrise platform and can rest assured that their donations will have maximum beneficial impact for the people of Nepal.

Please continue to help all those affected. To make a donation to the Nepal Earthquake 2015 Relief Effort, visit the Sahayeta website.