Surviving and Thriving through the Nepal Earthquake

It was day 10 of 18 on the Annapurna Circuit and the day I began my two and a half day push for the highest point we would reach, Thorong-La Pass (5416 meters). I came down for breakfast and made eye contact with a couple that I had hung out with the night before; they were being ranted at by a guide who just had a falling out with his customers. My food came and halfway through my meal, the slighted guide had vented all he could and huffed off, rattling the tables and glasses of the dining area.

“I know it’s just the poor construction of these buildings, and the predominant use of wood, but whenever someone walks by, I can’t help but think it’s an earthquake,” I said to the couple.

“Is that a big thing around here? Do they get big earthquakes?” the husband asked.

“Yeah, that’s what makes these mountains. The last big one was about 80 years ago.”

“So then they are due for another one then, huh?”

“I don’t know if that’s necessarily how it works,” his wife said.

About four hours later, the ground shook beneath my feet, the windows on a newly build lodge behind me shuttered and the scrub brush swayed for what felt like at least a minute. Kumar, my guide, looked me in the eyes and said, “Oooh, earthquake!” When the earth had stilled beneath us, but still tumbled down the slopes of the mountains across the river from us, he said, “I’ve never felt one like that before.”

My Experience

By now, it is not news that a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on the afternoon of April 25th.  From where I was, it didn’t seem that bad. We had just arrived in Yak Karka, a small village past Manang on the Annapurna Circuit and were stopping for lunch before pressing on to Letdar.

This part of the Circuit, past Manang and before Muktinath (which is on the other side of the pass) generally has no Internet and cell service is spotty at best.

In addition to the landslides across the river, a small stone structure, possibly used for yaks or food storage or something of that nature, crumbled before my eyes, however the main buildings were generally fine, and the building in Letdar seemed OK as well. Thorong Phedi, where we spent the next night, also seemed pretty untouched.

The guides got some trickling information: Gorkha distract was hit extremely bad; many people have died; there was an avalanche at Everest Base Camp and people died there; many houses damaged. But, without specifics, it was hard to place what this meant.

Though, when we reached Thorong Phedi with the scrap of news that Gorkha district had been hit pretty hard, six of the seven employees of the lodge we were staying at immediately packed their bags and set off down the mountain in the direction we just came from; their families were there.

Realizing the Extent of the Damage

It wasn’t until I made it over the pass and reached Muktinath, and Internet, that I realized exactly how devastating the tectonic shift was. I had scores of messages from friends checking on my safety and information was being relayed from my dad, whom I had sent an e-mail to letting him know that I was heading for the pass and would be out of communication, through my aunts and uncles to my friends on social media.

There was enough of an idea that I was not in the hardest hit area, but having not heard from me directly, there was still unease. The sense of relief that I got from my friends once I made my status of safety known was felt, in spite of being thousands of miles away. My RSS feed of news organizations was filled with stories of the devastation in Kathmandu, particularly at historic sights I had visited a few weeks prior. The pictures that accompanied the articles barely resembled pictures of the same spot I had recently posted on social media.

What the Best Option was for Me

After thinking on the situation for a bit, I came to the decision that the best thing I could do in that moment was continue my trek. Kumar’s family was all safe, though his house had cracked; Nanda, the woman who runs the company I went through, her family and the children at the children’s home she runs were safe. Were I to go to any of the disaster areas I would be just another unskilled volunteer when the people who were most needed were professional search and rescue teams and trauma doctors.

From where I was, I was safe; where I was headed was generally safe and this was a way I could inject even a small amount of money into this desperately poor economy.

Now that I have finished my trek, I have found myself still wanting to stay out of the way, but also wanting to find the organizations that are doing the work that is most needed and to lift them up.

If you spent any amount of time concerned for me and my safety, please consider the untold number of Nepalis who have suffered the fate you imagined for me, and please consider donating to any number of the organizations below.

Organizations Working in Nepal to Donate To

Nepal Red Cross Society

Sure, you can donate to Red Cross International and earmark your funds for the Nepal earthquake, but it may take those funds a while to get here and get distributed in an effective way. The Nepal Red Cross Society is here already, familiar with the locale and needs and mobilized pretty much immediately. On my bus ride into Kathmandu, a number of the tarpaulin tents that had been erected outside of buildings that were no longer safe to inhabit were branded with the Nepal Red Cross Society on them.

Ways to donate are detailed here.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands is an organization based in Pokhara, the second largest city, that provides handicraft or spa technician training and employment opportunities to deaf or blind Nepalis. I spent a few days in Pokhara after my trek, and each day, in front of their retail store where they sell scarves woven by the people with disabilities, I saw a small cadre of volunteers packing up supplies and food to be taken out to villages where assistance was needed. I sat and spoke at length with one employee who had been out for four days making deliveries and planned on donating one year’s salary to help.

To donate to Helping Hands efforts, here is their bank account information:

Account no: 00411036324
Account Name: Yes Helping Hands
Swift code: LXBLNPKA
Bank Name: Laxmi bank Limited ; Pokhara

Africa-Asia Destitute Relief Foundation

The Africa-Asia Destitute Relief Foundation (ADRF) is a Korean Organization that was started in 1995 originally to help alleviate need for education in Liberia during the civil war there. They have since branched into numerous other countries across the African continent and have expanded into Asia as well. ADRF Nepal started in 2011 and work under the motto HOPE = EDUCATION.

To donate to them, get in touch through their contact information here.

Friends of Himalayan Children

Friends of Himalayan Children (FHC) is an Australian-based humanitarian organization that aims to stop child exploitation by promoting education and providing a safe home for children. Unfortunately, not only have their school and orphanage have been destroyed by the earthquake, but a man who helped to run the school was killed in a landslide caused by the earthquake.

However, in spite of their losses, they are pulling together to help the surrounding villages and at the time of writing they have taken over 200 bags of rice and other supplies to the village and were covered by an ABC news team. You can watch that report here.

To make an online donation, you can do so here.

Rise Nepal

Rise Nepal is slightly different from the other organizations on this list. It was formed by Nepali youth in direct response to the need presented by the earthquake. They are being guided by that Asia-Pacific Peace and Development Service Alliance (APPDSA) and the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nepal. These young leaders have coordinated to help provide temporary shelter for families whose home were destroyed, distributed relief, done damage surveys, prepared meals and done general clean-ups.

To donate to this grassroots, youth-led project, click here.

Friends of Nepal

Finally, I want to end on the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) network of volunteers that served in Nepal. Just as I have intimate knowledge of Thai society, culture, geography, bureaucracy and organizations, so too do these people have such knowledge of Nepal. RPCVs, PCVs and the staff associated with each country have more knowledge and connections than is always immediately evident.

Friends of Nepal is coordinating with a small handful of organizations and individuals on the ground in Nepal and they have been posting frequent updates. Check out their page for organizations you can donate directly to.

Additionally, they are collecting donations themselves and had raised more than $50,000 in a week. You can donate to those funds here.

If you are with an organization working in Nepal and are in need of donations, please comment telling us about your organization and ways to donate.