Dear DOC Friends,

A number of you have connections, experience and interest in Nepal and have asked about how to contribute to relief efforts there.   I’m passing along this very helpful information (below) from faculty members Sienna Craig and Ken Bauer.

Best,
Dan

Daniel M. Nelson ‘75, Director
Dartmouth Outdoor Programs

From: Sienna R. Craig <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Date: Sun, Apr 26, 2015 at 8:46 PM
Subject: Nepal - Suffering and Response



Dear Family, Friends, and Colleagues,

Yesterday at noon local time, a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Himalayan country of Nepal. As of this writing, the official death toll is over 2,500, but the actual casualties from this catastrophic event are orders of magnitude greater than this number. These deaths are occurring not only in the capital city, but also across Nepal’s rural hill and mountain communities.

In the past 24 hours, the country has experienced more than 80 aftershocks, including two additional major quakes in the Kathmandu Valley and northeast of the capital. Avalanches in the Everest region have resulted in the death of mountain climbers, both foreign and local. Landslides further threaten homes and communities throughout the country, particularly north and east of the Kathmandu Valley. Entire villages have turned to rubble overnight. World heritage sites have toppled. The human loss is impossible to calculate. The Nepali people and the nation as a whole are experiencing this tragedy in the wake of a brutal 10-year civil war (1996-2006) and, now, nearly a decade of fragile peace and political instability.

Although Nepal is half a world away, it is a place close to the hearts and minds of many of you, and certainly of us.  We are deeply concerned, saddened, and moved to action by these events. The work of immediate relief – including for the provision of water, food, and shelter – is essential. So, too, are efforts toward rebuilding and resilience over the long term. In the coming weeks, access to water, food, and housing will continue to be important. As the monsoon begins in early summer, this will bring with it further challenges to everything from clean water to landslides and rebuilding efforts. The fact that approximately 3 million of Nepal’s able bodied men and women are abroad working as wage laborers contributes to the complexity of rebuilding, particularly in rural areas.

Many of you are likely wondering how best to help. We recommend the following, which are not mutually exclusive.

For those of you who want to help generally:

1. Educate the Children, a respected NGO based in Ithaca, NY working in rural areas of Nepal that have been very hard  hit. We know ETC from our days in Ithaca/Cornell. They are reliable and trustworthy : http://www.etc-nepal.org/earthquake_relief.php

2. One Heart World-Wide, a maternal-child health NGO with whom Sienna has worked for 13 years, first in Tibet and now in Nepal, working in 2 of the hardest hit rural districts outside of Kathmandu, Dhading and Sindhupalchok: http://www.oneheartworld-wide.org/index.php/donate/donate_donate/

3. American Nepal Medical Foundation, on the ground in Nepal since 1997, run by Nepali doctors in conjunction with US doctors: https://life.indiegogo.com/fun…/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund

3. Mercy Corps, works throughout Nepal, decades of experience: https://www.mercycorps.org/d…/earthquake-survivers-need-you…

4. Waves for Water, very good for water-related relief, which is desperately needed:http://www.wavesforwater.org/project/nepalreliefinitiative

5. We also recommend The Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Red-Cross-Responding-to-78-Magnitude-Earthquake-in-Nepal and charities listed on this site:MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "www.pri.org" claiming to be http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-25/how-help-nepal-7-vetted-charities-doing-relief-work-following-earthquake<http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-25/how-help-nepal-7-vetted-charities-doing-relief-work-following-earthquake>



For those of you in the Dartmouth / Upper Valley Community:
As was the case during the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, we must mobilize a response. Given the experiences of the Dartmouth, Geisel, and DHMC in emergency response, we believe that our community is in a position to offer meaningful contributions to the relief effort. Right now Ken and I have written to senior administration and are also working to coordinate with Nepali Dartmouth students and community members, including the owner of Base Camp Café in Hanover. We are planning to have a meeting to help coordinate response at 6pm on Tuesday April 28 in Silsby 317. Please come if you have ideas, questions, or a desire to help mobilize a local response.

For those of you with connections to Mustang and Dolpo:
While these regions have not been impacted as severely as many areas, there is still significant damage. Houses are unlivable  in several villages and impacts to major structures (monasteries, the palace in Lo Monthang, etc) are as yet not fully known. Such regions will likely not be the recipients of much large scale direct relief. People from Mustang and Dolpo living in Kathmandu  – especially children in boarding schools and monasteries – have been directly impacted by these events. Please consider sending a donation to: Drokpa, c/o Sienna Craig & Ken Bauer 95 Stowell Rd. Norwich, VT 05055. We are in close contact with people from both regions and will be able to make sure that  your tax deductible donation goes directly to families in need.



For a live feed of Nepal events, we recommend The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/apr/26/nepal-earthquake-death-toll-exceeds-1500-rolling-report



To understand the geological underpinnings of this event and how it is unfolding, we recommend this blog from the American Geophysical Union: http://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/



Please feel free to share this message.


In solidarity with the strong and suffering people of Nepal.



Namaste,

Sienna and Ken


Sienna R. Craig, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Anthropology
Dartmouth College
6047 Silsby Hall
Hanover, NH, 03755
Tel: 603.646.9356<tel:603.646.9356>
email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
web: siennacraig.com<http://siennacraig.com/>
Co-Editor, HIMALAYA: www.himalayajournal.org<http://www.himalayajournal.org/>



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