April 25th 2015: the Gorkha earthquake swept through Nepal. The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8, along with numerous aftershocks, landslides and flooding, devastated the country and was responsible for the deaths of over 9000 people. Not only that, but it also left nearly 8 million people without homes, making this the worst natural disaster to ever hit Nepal, in terms of human casualties.
It has now been over six months since the devastating earthquake, and Nepal’s path to recover is still underway. As reported in the Banff Mountain Film Festivals Hot Topic Panel about Nepal’s current state, the majority of Nepal is now running and is safe to visit (with the exception of the Langtang region). The trails leading up to Mt. Everest and its once unrecognisable base camp have been reopened and are safe for tourists to visit. Several damaged heritage sites, including the Budhanilkantha and Pashupatinath temple have also been declared safe.
The problem now lies within Nepal’s economy. With a GDP (gross domestic product) of $31.5 billion US dollars, Nepal considered one of the world’s poorest countries. It has also been assessed that in order to recover from the quake, the country needs to raise 6.6 billion US dollars. This equates to a third of Nepal’s economy. The earthquake caused an estimated 10 billion dollars damage in total. Some homes that were demolished by the quake have yet to be rebuilt, and as the Himalayan winter is approaching, many of the Nepalese people are worried about how they will make it through the winter.
“ I am very worried because I don’t have any warm clothes and it gets really cold in the winter,” a Nepalese woman told ABC News.
Though approximately four billion dollars has been donated to Nepal since the earthquake, many people have seen very little of the money put to use. $2000 was promised to individuals affected by the quake, yet some people have only received $150 of that amount. This has created a lot of scepticism from individuals wanting to donate to Nepal. Another cause for concern is the fact that Nepal’s Prime Minister declared in April that funds being donated to Nepal’s Relief must go through the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Many people are now unsure if their donated money will go towards humanitarian need, or if it will remain in the government for political considerations.
How you can help
If you are someone who is interested in donating or helping Nepal, the best way to help is to visit Nepal and help support local businesses and people. Nepal relies heavily on tourism to fuel their economy, and it is the source of income for a large proportion of nepalese people. By purchasing products straight from Nepal, there is no concern about whether or not your money is being allocated to the right place.
However, if you are unable to purchase a ticket to fly to Nepal there are other ways to help. If you are interested in donating, it is important to donate to charities which give the money straight to the nepalese people. Some reliable local charities are Medical Mercy Canada and CORE International. There are obviously more, but it is important to research where your money is going to end up before donating.
