GALVmed has donated US $12,891.47 to our partner Heifer International Nepal, which will provide tents to 1,157 families who are in desperate need of shelter before the approaching monsoon seasons. Heifer Nepal will distribute the tents to those affected by the recent Nepal earthquakes on 27th and 29th May 2015. Our Project Manager for South Asia, Peetambar Kushwaha will be helping Heifer Nepal distribute the donated materials on Friday 29th May.
We currently work in two countries in South Asia – India and Nepal. Nepal is a small country and 50 percent of it has been directly affected by the earthquakes and the rest affected indirectly through infrastructure damage. Many livestock keepers have lost everything including their livelihood. Villages have lost everything including shelter. The donated tents will temporarily help protect the people and their livestock from the sun and upcoming monsoon rains as they wait for more long-term housing solutions from the government and other organisations.
“This small donation will help them start again – rebuilding their lives and livestock, which they rely on to support their livelihood,” said Peetambar Kushwaha, GALVmed’s Project Manager for South Asia.
This donation was made possible through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Heifer Nepal has been our oldest partner in Nepal with whom we implement Newcastle disease (ND) vaccination programmes. One of the villages that has been receiving the ND vaccination programme is Chhatare Deurali where GALVmed’s donation will be used to distribute relief materials to those affected by the earthquake. In this village, 42 people died, 65 people were injured, 900 houses collapsed, 581 houses were damaged and over 500 animals died.
Through our partners like Heifer Nepal, we will encourage vaccinators and all those involved in supplying animal health products to resume their operation to support livestock keepers as they rebuild their lives.
The Himalayan region of Nepal is considered one of the most severe earthquake-prone zones in the world. On 25thApril 2015, a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale devastated hill and mountain districts of eastern, central, western and mid-western development regions of Nepal. The second big quake of 7.3 magnitudes on 12 May 2015 added more devastation to existing districts and impacted additional districts, which were not impacted in the first quake. The landslides and avalanche triggered by the quake in hills and mountains caused destruction at an even more severe level.
According to the information received from the national disaster portal to date, more than 8,600 people lost their lives and more than 16,800 are injured. More than 500,000 houses are fully destroyed and more than 260,000 are partially destroyed from this earthquake, leaving people deprived of food, water, shelter and basic health services. Among the different parts of Nepal experiencing earthquake, the central and western region are the most severely affected.
For more information on the impact of the earthquakes, read our blog post: Livelihood and livestock after the Nepal earthquake. For more information on Heifer Nepal and to support the earthquake relief work, visit their website.