Today Women’s Foundation team left early in the morning with 2 trucks to Sindhupalchok and Dolakha Districts full of relief aid for these remote and mountainous villages.The WFN team that went to Sindhupalchok is back, but the team for Dolakha is still on its way to the affected areas. They spent the night on the road and they will be back tomorrow, late at night.
According to team Sindhupalchok, the villageis in a poor but beautiful area, full of green hills and flowers. In Bansbari V.D.C MijarTole, at 9 no.ward, there now 188 families displaced by the earthquakes. Thirteen people died there and 5 people are injured severely and have been admitted to the hospital. The people in this district earn their living by farming, but their lands and buildings have been swept away. Terraced farmland has either fallen away in the landslides or is too unstable to continue to farm. Their crops are all destroyed and many of their animals are dead or without shelter. Animals being born this spring are sickly and many die because they are out in the open. The people have nothing left that they can rebuild with.
Like villages all over this area that were so badly affected from the first earthquake, the second quake located in this eastern district, caused severe damage. Landslides, falling rocks, falling boulders and weakened buildings which collapsed completely during the second earthquake have brought even further destruction and suffering. When WFN arrived, the team found people gathered together in open spaces under tarps, often many families squeezed in together. These crowded conditions, along with rain and damp increase the incidence of illness, and many are now complaining of diarrhea and coughs.
Even two weeks ago, the Ministry of Health reported dramatically increased rates of diarrhea and pneumonia throughout the 14 districts affected most severely. Given that up to 90% of all rural health stations have been destroyed in the earthquakes (as reported by CNN), people are at increased risk of dehydration, malnutrition and cold. Disease is feared will spread quickly.
The people also showed us that none of their houses have escaped the destruction, and there is nowhere they can shelter except under temporary tarps. All the people have been living out in these open areas to be safe from aftershocks.Mental health is also of increasing concern; disheartened and overwhelmed by the breadth of these disasters, and suffering from the continuing threat of aftershocks, the people are in need of counseling and comforting as well as the needs of the body.
Our team went to meet the people and to help however we could, and we were able to provide emergency aid to all the people of that ward.In the meantime, they are scared not only by their miserable conditions, but by the future. How will they provide for themselves? What will happen to them?
The people of this village and many thousands of others still need your love and care. They need to know we are still there to help, to listen to their stories, to lend whatever assistance we can. They are not alone.

Today the Women’s Foundation team again used a helicopter to deliver aid to the remote and mountainous Dolakha District. Dolakha is in the north of the country and known for its superbly beautiful green foothills and steep mountains leading up into the Himalayas. Now however, it has been buried under landslides, falling boulders and mountain falls; all the roads into this area have been effectively destroyed.
Our air lift took us to the village of Khopchagu V.D.C. Khopchagu is so beautiful with its nature, but even at the best of times, this is a poor area and people have a hard time feeding themselves. In Khopchagu, within its 9 wards, there now 650 families displaced by the earthquakes. These people earn their living by farming, but that has been swept away. Their terraced farmland is destroyed, many animals are dead or sickly, and they have nothing left.
When WFN arrived, the people were there to greet us and told us that no one had been there to help them since before the second earthquake. They showed us that now ALL the houses and buildings of their community have been damaged. There is not even one single house left behind from the destruction of both large earthquakes. All the people have been living out in an open area to be safe from aftershocks that might cause even more destruction and collapse. Most people are sharing tents with many families together. Some people, however, have not even that and are sleeping under the crown of the sky.
Our WFN team met with all these people and listened to their stories of hardship and suffering. They told us of how they are all becoming sick, that their tents are wet and crowded, everyone’s clothing and bedding is wet and that they suffer from fear because of the constant aftershocks. These people are farmers; they have no other resources or training, but the government has sent word that they must all leave the area. The threat of landslides in such hilly terrain is too great to rebuild. At the same time, the people have no ability to provide for themselves or to relocate themselves. They are left without tents, food, or warm blankets because they have been told to move away.
Our team went to meet the people and to help however we could, but we could not provide emergency aid to all. Arriving by airlift restricted how many supplies we could bring. There is no way, however, that we can just ignore their terrible conditions, so we felt we MUST do whatever we could to bring tents and warm blankets to that area during the period they are still marooned there. We cannot abandon these people while the government decides where they should go. This was only the option we could find where we could help, if even in a limited way. WFN is still waiting to hear how the government will bring these people to safety now that the government has declared the area unfit to live in. The people need food and shelter until they are safely carried out.
In the meantime, they are scared not only by their miserable conditions, but by the future. Where will they go? How will they provide for themselves? What will happen to them?
We all need to stand together, now more than ever, to make sure that these people, and all others in similar circumstances due to the Nepal Earthquakes,are not forgotten, and not overlooked. Please keep following these stories and ensure that everyone gets the support and help they need to restart their lives.
You can DONATE here with our sister organization Global Women’s Project – all monies come directly to Women’s Foundation Nepal to fund our ongoing relief efforts.

Today, six more pregnant women and one new mother arrived at the WFN shelter home for women displaced by the earthquake. These last months of pregnancy and the time following childbirth is a special period in which women need much more nutritious food, love, and affection along with a safe space where they will feel completely protected and cared for. At WFN, we are committed to providing all of that, within an environment of family love since these women are temporarily separated from their loved ones. The women are happy and safe staying at the shelter and we give them as much love and care as we can.
The Shelter for Pregnant Women and New Mothers is a year long project that needs lots of support and funding to help and support these women during this vulnerable and special time. Together we can do much more in the months ahead and give hope to these women and keep their infants safe.
Let’s join, hand and hand together, to help in this devastating situation.
Your support will make the difference in people’s life and increase hope for them!

Today a WFN helicopter full of emergency materials was out early! President of WFN, Renu Sharma, left for the more distant areas of Dolakha District,Chilankha VDC, where 350 families received our aid packages. We wrapped food and emergency supplies in a blanket and lungies for each package going to individual families. Because we arrived by helicopter we could only stay there for such a short time, but we asked the women arriving for the emergency packages to report to us what it has been like to camp out in temporary shelters and tents for 18 days following the earthquake. Their words represent the stories and conditions of displaced families in their area of remote Dolakha district.
The people of that area say it has been extremely difficult – no one has been to help them before. It is very difficult to get by each day, especially for children and old people. Many people are crowded together at night, with many families sharing only one tent. The weather at this time of year is hot and humid with sudden and fierce thunderstorms. The tents do not protect from the heavy rain of the thunderstorms and now most of their clothes and food are wet. The little which they can salvage from their houses is also wet. It is increasingly hard to spend night after night in wet, crowded and humid conditions. People are afraid that disease will spread in these conditions. Children and old people are increasingly becoming ill with coughs and stomach illness. Because they are crammed together in small spaces, many are sick now.
There is also no shelter for their animals. Because it is birthing season, they say their young animals are getting sick and dying.
People are scared by the continuous aftershocks and are stressed and depressed. They are very worried about the future and can’t see a way out of this disaster for themselves.

This is a very hard and frightening time for the people of Nepal. Trouble after trouble has followed the damage and destruction of the earthquakes. After the second big earthquake of magnitude 7.4, the hopes of the people have been really tested, and they are really frightened for the future. Just as after the first earthquake, people have left their homes and have fled to open places again, in fear that there might be yet another major quake. They no longer trust their homes to be safe for them and this has left people vulnerable to both mental and physical suffering.
Currently at WFN: WFN is so glad to be able to tell you that the children at our shelter home as well as our team are all safe. A structural engineer from Germany visited the shelter home and he assured us that our home is safe, but due to the continuous aftershocks both the children and women are afraid to spend the night inside the house. We have made them a special tent at the garden of the shelter, which makes them feel safe.
Once more, WFN has made safe tent shelters for the local community around Boudha in Kathmandu by opening up our production center, school compound and child care center for people to overnight in. There are now over 600 people staying at those areas for temporary shelter.
WFN relief effort is also still in high gear. Reports coming in state that 14 districts have been badly affected and that distribution of aid through roadways is impossible due to damage and landslides. Remote areas are effectively cut off from overland support and are so difficult to reach that it is not possible to carry in aid by foot. However, our very first priority as a team is to reach out to those most badly affected people without further delay. Now we are planning to distribute the emergency aid through airlift.
But we see lots of challenges ahead. All helicopters are under the control of the Home Minister, so we are forced to wait a long time for access, all the while seeing the situation each minute get worse and worse. It is very difficult for us knowing that the conditions in those districts are worsening each day, but unable to reach those in need. The Government has taken control of those zones and announced that they are “sensitive” areas: this has caused delays in aid reaching those parts.
Imagine the hard life in those areas; people looking up in the empty sky and waiting and hoping to get relief. The unpredictable rainy, stormy weather adds misery to their lives. Nepal, this time of year, receives regular violent thunderstorms and the monsoon season is just weeks away. The people are scared and at the same time suffering from hunger, pain, and loss of their loved ones. We feel the responsibility lies on us, here in the city, to share and care in their sorrow. This is why we want to overcome all these obstacles and move ahead to comfort those who survived this deadly disaster.
Together we can share HOPE and together we can share a sense of relief. YES WE CAN!!!
Please! continue your support! Now more than ever the people need to know you CARE.
New Mother Project: In the midst of all this pain and misery, there is new life. WFN is pleased to report that today 11 women contacted the Women’s Foundation after learning of our new program to support pregnant women and new mothers who have been displaced by the earthquake. Three women have come to stay with us already, including one woman with a 15 day old baby. Both are doing well. There are also two pregnant women who have arrived from Sindhupalchowk and Makawanpur Districts, seeking shelter from their ravaged villages.

Women’s Foundation team left early in the morning with WFN trucks full of food, blankets, clothes (i.e. cotton lungis, wrap skirts for women) and emergency materials to the hard hit and rural section of Lalitpur District. We drove to Bhattedanda VDC ward no 5, 8 and Eigdol VDC ward no 7 which are even more remote and hilly. The people there have been hard hit losing up to 100% of their houses.
When we arrived at our first stop in the very remote and hilly village of Lalitpur, we talked with the people and started to organize the families for distribution. Then, when we were just about to start giving out supplies to families, the second large earthquake in Nepal, a very big shock of 7.3 magnitude, hit.

People in Nepal that past week were just starting to re-adjust to live again after the first earthquake on April 25. They were returning back to their homes, getting back to work, picking up the pieces and salvaging what they could, and thinking that the aftershocks were getting better, smaller and that it was pretty much over and nothing would come again that would be a big tremor or do much damage. So, this second large earthquake, coming three weeks after the first was a great shock and very frightening to everyone. With this second disaster, all the people are now very, very scared. Almost all the houses in many districts surrounding the epicenters are no longer usable, even is they are still standing and not flattened completely. Many people lost their lives and there are still even some buried in rubble and waiting for rescue. Because of the many landslides from the quake and sometimes heavy rain fall from thunderstorms, both the roadways and air rescue have serious problems sending in rescue teams. Blocked roads mean that people, family, and rescue teams cannot move from one place to another either to distribute aid or to re-unite with family members. Until roads are cleared, there is no way to move food and emergency supplies to remote villages so badly effected. Reports are coming that even safe drinking water has become a problem.

Following the quake, that the WFN team were caught up in at Bhattedanda, we immediately began distributing the supplies we had brought with us. During this devastating time, it was very rewarding to be able to successfully distribute emergency relief to 115 families and provide the most necessary relief supplies to those who needed them the most.

After that massive earthquake, the road remained blocked for 5 hours due to dry landslide. Our team was almost trapped, but because of the support of police and villagers the road was cleared and our team was back late that same night and all are safe.

We are so grateful for your continuing support and concern!

Your donations enable us to purchase and distribute tents and shelter materials, food, oil for generators, mattresses and quilts, emergency medical supplies, water purification drops and sanitary supplies. Please share this information with your friends and network. You can find donation information in the last post.

Your Support can makes a lots of difference!

 Today WFN trucks full of food, tents and emergency materials were out early! One team left for the more distant areas of Sindhuli District. Another team is waiting for road conditions to improve to travel to Dolakha District. A third team returned to Karve District with tents and rice for those families who did not receive during our last visit. Aid was distributed from outside our WFN office in Karve to 40 families. Afterwards the women stayed to report to us what it is like to camp out in temporary shelters and tents for 16 days following the earthquake. Their words represent the stories of 200 displaced families in their area.

The women say it has been difficult – no one has been to help them before now. Many of them are on their own – some of the men are working away in other countries, a common reality for many Nepali families. Of the group reporting, the ages of their kinfolk range from one month to 95 years old. The women said it is particularly difficult living this way for small children and old people. Many people are crowded together at night, with up to three families under one tent. The weather at this time of year is hot and humid with sudden and fierce thunderstorms. The tents do not protect from the deluge of rain and now most of their clothes and food are wet. Their bedding is wet and it is hard to sleep well at night.

The people, especially the children and elderly, are getting coughs, asthma and stomach cramps. Most are sick now. Without a good night’s sleep, damp and miserable, with no proper bed and not enough food to eat, everyone is starting to be stretched to the limit.

The farm animals that survived are wandering around without shelter and they bring mosquitos and flies to the camping area. It is noisy and sometimes frightening at night. Even while the discussion with the women was going on, a bad aftershock shook the ground. Many of these people were pulled out of collapsed buildings or survived being inside when the earthquake hit and they are still suffering from the trauma of the event. Continuing tremors are adding to their misery and stress.

People are also very worried about the future. They cannot see their way out of this, given the little they have left. They don’t know what will happen in monsoon season which will start in another few weeks.… their current shelter is not good enough to keep them safe from the downpours.

The main income of these people is farming and some of them had small micro loans to allow them to buy more livestock and farming equipment. Now, they have lost their animals, equipment, and buildings – they are afraid because they have nothing left and no way to pay back their loans and start again. It harvesting time, but the earthquake has shut down many small shops and it is very hard to sell their produce.

There is also no shelter for their animals, and yet it is birthing season. Calves, chicks, goats, and young animals are getting sick and dying. When they do, the women have a hard time burying the dead animals. There is no one with the strength to salvage materials from the collapsed houses. Because the men and young people are away working in other countries to earn money, the women and elderly are left to cope on their own.

 The WFN team has been busy on two fronts.  We have re-ordered supplies to supplement our dwindling resources; yesterday 700 bags of rice (30 kg each) were received as well as a shipment of tents coming from India.  Over night we will pack for an early start to reach 141 families in Purano Jhangajholi, Sindhuli District, 100 km to the east of Kathmandu.  This first team will distribute rice, lentils, and lungis for women.  A second team will leave for Sunderwati Village, Ward 5 and 6 in Dolakha District, a distance of about 170km, to distribute to 160 families there. 

 WFN is also working rapidly to hire staff and put together necessary resources in order to open our Program to Shelter Pregnant Women and New Mothers Displaced by the Earthquake.  Of the 2 million women of reproductive age affected by the Nepal Earthquake, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) estimates that 126,000 pregnant women and lactating women “are in urgent need of health services.”  These women are not only left without homes, food, clothing or shelter at time when they are most vulnerable, but their usual support network of family are left without resources as well.  In many areas of the Kathmandu valley and in countless small villages in the 7 districts surrounding the epicenter, up to 100% of buildings were destroyed or damaged and are unfit to return to.  Entire villages are living under tents and camping in open areas.  For pregnant women and new mothers left homeless after the earthquake, the need for safe, secure housing, safe food and water, nutrition, health care, bedding and clothing, and caring support is critical for both themselves and for their infants. 

Stay in touch with us for more news about this critically important new program.

 You can continue to DONATE to support our relief efforts at our sister organization Global Womens Network link here.

 You can also donate by

Name of Bank: Nepal Investment Bank Ltd., Putalisadak, Kathmandu, Nepal

Account Name: The Women’s Foundation, Kamalpokhari-Kathmandu

Account Type: Current Account-NPR

Account Numbers: 01201020251273

SWIFT CODE: NIBLNPKT

Today a team of 11 went back to Duwakot, a village located just east of Kathmandu. WFN has an office there, and one of the staff met us with a list of 60 families in a rural section of the district that were in need and still had not received any aid. Relief efforts by large organizations can sometimes be patchy and may miss individuals and families.

At our first stop we distributed tents and rice. We spoke with one survivor, Kamala Pradhan, who told us her story. She was working in the field outside her house when the quake hit. She immediately thought of her mother, trapped in the house, unable to walk since she is crippled by arthritis. Regardless of the fact that her house was starting to fall apart, Kamala ran into the house to rescue her mother. She found her on the ground floor, picked her up and carried her 72 year old mother on her back outside to safety while the quake was still happening.

Renu Sharma, president of Women’s Foundation Nepal, announced a new program to provide shelter, food, medical access, nutrition, counselling and health support for pregnant women and new mothers who have been displaced by the Gorka Earthquake. She was interviewed on Radio Nepal today about this new program to reach women who have been left without homes, food, sanitary conditions or support at such a vulnerable time. “During our relief efforts in the devastated communities around Kathmandu, we were struck with how terrible conditions were for any woman who will give birth in the coming weeks. We want to provide a safe and healthy place for them to go to.”