You have seen more pictures from the earthquake than I have seen. You have watched more news coverage than I have. You realize the extent of the damage and the far-reaching effects that are the new reality for Nepal. There is one big difference. You can change the channel, go outside or do a number of things and find yourself in your normal reality. That is not possible here, nor will it be for many years.
Descriptive words for natural disasters usually include the words DEVASTATION and DANGEROUS and DESPERATE. This last word describes the situation in Nepal today. The death count, injuries, buildings destroyed, homeless, and every other unwanted casualty will continue to grow for a long time.
My Nepali colleagues and I have attended two meetings at the Kathmandu United Nations complex, visited the Humanitarian Staging Area at the airport cargo terminal and met with a Joint Secretary of the Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs. The descriptive words continue to begin with the letter D … DISAPPOINTING and DISMAL.
The bottom line is that all rescue aid goes from a formal donor agency licensed by one government to a formal recipient agency registered in the receiving country. Nepal interprets this as a government-to-government transaction. The Nepal government has claimed every bag of rice, every jacket, every tent, and a large portion of the money that is coming into the country. Large sums deposited into any bank account opened after April 25 are immediately placed into a government account under the sole authority of the Prime Minister. This one-door policy for relief aid has allegedly and officially, but dishonestly, been put into effect to protect the aid for the good of the people.
Every government has its own “trickle down system.” Such would include outstretched hands to fill many personal pockets before the goods and services reach their intended destinations. In Nepal the government is not accountable to the civil society. Nepal is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world.
Fortunately there are ways around these discouraging obstacles. We have contacts with established businesses that import goods. We can place orders in Nepal, China and India, pay lower prices than USA, and receive these “hard goods” without government interference. We can rent a truck and deliver the goods to the place of our choosing. The most efficient way to help is to use cash within the country and to order locally and from neighboring nations.
How do we get money into Nepal and into our hands? We will have two main contacts in the United States. Information relative to these contacts is listed below. Both allow every donation to be tax deductible. For both of these entities we have bank accounts in Nepal that have been in existence for some time. The government will not watch these accounts as closely. We can utilize these accounts by transferring small sums of money over a safe period of time.
What is the overhead? NONE. No paid employees. I have lived in Nepal for 19 years without outside financial support. My Nepali colleagues also have a will to serve the needy people of their homeland. There will be No Trickle Down System.
One hundred percent of money donated through either of these
channels will go directly to aid the neediest people of Nepal.
OUR GOALS:
1. Emergency Survival: Get through the monsoon season [June 15 - Sept 15]. Food Cooking items Tarps Tents Sleeping pads Clothing - Remember the word DESPERATE.
2. Be prepared for a better level of survival for the winter. Build some small two-room homes that may serve two families. Crowded [4-7/room] but a roof and walls are better than a tarp.
3. Help families to rebuild over the next two to three years. Add on to some of the two room houses. Build more houses.
4. Food and clothing as needed, and they are badly needed.
5. Children and local schools.
Please share this letter with your friends and civic or spiritual organizations. I hope you never see a bigger relief need in your lifetime. I sincerely believe you will never find a better “value for dollar donated” or wiser and efficient use of the money.
SHOULD YOU CARE TO HELP US MEET OUR GOALS PLEASE
SEND A DONATION TO EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING:
Donations:
Children of Kathmandu Lakewood Church of Christ
At “Memo” please indicate Earthquake Relief.
3801 Spruce Meadow Drive 6011 Coldbrook Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59718 Lakewood, CA 90713-1025
Contact – Judy Golphenee Contact – Steve & Lorna Rudd
Lorna = My sister
May God bless you, your families, and all those you love.
Jerry Golphenee
FINAL POST SCRIPT:
I just received this from Don Nelson, a longtime Montana friend, who returned last night from an evaluation trip to mountain villages with a Canadian and four Nepali men. Ajay Pariyar, a 20-year-old Children of Kathmandu student, was one of these Nepalese.
“I had wondered what was meant by the few people who have witnessed the real depth of destruction in the outlying areas. Now I know. We arrived back in Kathmandu speechless and stunned by the vast devastation and rising hopelessness and desperation of the survivors. I just finished a shower, trying to not only wash off the dust and sweat from climbing those incredibly steep mountain trails, but trying to clean away the desperate feelings we experienced there.”
The FINAL POST SCRIPT will not end this letter. I intended to mail this letter yesterday [Tuesday]. The 7.3 earthquake yesterday at 1:00, no electricity, sleeping outside, etc. changed the plans.
Thankfully all those close to me are uninjured. That is not true everywhere. As you would expect there are more deaths, injuries, destroyed buildings, homeless, and the fear and discouragement that must accompany these tragedies. The needs for weather protection, food, medical, sanitation, clothing, and the list goes on has only grown lager.
I don’t do Face Book, websites, etc.
Please look at the updated website: www.childrenofkathmandu.org
Keep us in your prayers ………… Jerry