#WeHelpNepal
Supporting locally-led, corruption-free Nepal Earthquake relief efforts so that your contributions fund need, not greed.
WHO IS WE HELP NEPAL?
We Help Nepal is a network supporting people-to-people investment in Nepal’s recovery effort from the April 25th 2015 earthquake. We are a group of current and former residents committed to assisting well-vetted efforts that are rooted in a philosophy of relief to self-reliance, disaster to sustainable development.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit task force of artists, business owners, doctors, teachers and development workers who have lived or are currently living in Nepal. We are united by our mutual connection to Nepal and our commitment to alternative development models.
We know where the support is most needed and how to get it there.
We Help Nepal will distribute funds to transparent, trustworthy grassroots groups that take a regenerative approach. The recent earthquake was a natural disaster intensified by the manmade forces of rapid development, poverty, and conflict driven displacement. This fund is focused on small to mid-size organizations that are doing community-level work and have the capacity to support locally-led disaster relief and recovery.
IMMEDIATE NEED
Immediate funding will go towards emergency supplies (food, tents, water purification, assisting camps in Kathmandu neighbourhoods). In the longer term, we are committed to assisting well-vetted efforts rooted in a philosophy of relief to self-reliance, disaster to sustainable development.
To date, our collective on the ground have collected, bought, and delivered several tons of supplies of rice and dahl and relief materials. The collective is 20 people strong on the ground, and they are collecting supplies all across Kathmandu.
We are committing the first $9,000 to two teams working on immediate recovery.
- Dhunbari Project: Supporting tent camps in Dhunbari and other Kathmandu neighborhoods through a trusted colleague who is already running a tent camp in his front yard.
- Sindhupalchok: Supporting blankets, food, and trucks to provide immediate relief to small villages outside of Kathmandu who have received no aid to date. Project lead: Anne McGuinness.
WE ARE NOT A TRADITIONAL DISASTER RELIEF ORGANISATION
The recent earthquake was a natural disaster intensified by the manmade forces of rapid development, poverty, and conflict driven displacement. Our expertise comes from our awareness of the Nepali social and political landscape, and our connections to local organizations in Kathmandu and the surrounding areas that are beneath the international radar.
Relief aid, while well intentioned, often ends up in the pockets of corrupt local bureaucrats and/or multinational contracts, very little reaching the people that actually need the aid. This has been seen in many disaster situations from the 2004 Asian tsunami to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. This fund is focused on small to mid-size organizations that are doing community-level work and have the capacity to support locally-led disaster relief and recovery.
We recognize that in this tragedy there are seeds of hope that will sprout from the rubble.