In September, we left on a journey to travel the world. In November of 2015, we set out to trek, volunteer and explore Nepal; little did we know it would be a trip that changed our lives forever.
Nepal was struck by a devasting earthquake in April 2015, killing over 8,000 people and injuring 21,000. With a magnitude of 7.8, we expected to see serious damage, but we were not prepared for the level of destruction we witnessed. For 21 days we trekked through the Everest region, an area hit the hardest by the quake, hearing stories from locals, discussing their experience during the tragedy and process of rebuilding. We learned that the Nepali government has been very slow to react and at the time of our trek, those affected had been given a mere $150 to rebuild their homes.
During the trek we learned that our guide Sagar and his family had also been severly affected, not only losing the family home his parents parents built 10 years earlier, but subsequently living in a temporary inadequate outdoor shelter, leaving them vulnerable to the harsh Nepal winter and limited access to food and clean water.
Sagar has been a government guide for 2 years and in the field for 5 years, continuing to work diligently to raise money to rebuild their home with little help from the government. The money that has been raised thus far is tied up for political reasons and Sagar and family are only a few of thousands of victims that are struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives.
During our trek, we spoke extensively about what it would take to rebuild their home and were shocked to find out that they only need $3500. Since tourism was down significantly in the last year, the opportunity to earn money and rebuild is taking even longer.
Our experience in Nepal has changed our lives forever and Sagar was a huge part of that, so we are reaching out to our friends and family at home to help make a difference in their lives. Our goal is to raise the $3500 needed to rebuild by the time we return to Nepal in early May, 2016. A small donation in this part of the world goes a long way and we can't express our gratitude enough for showing interest and participating in Sagar's cause.
Please take a look through the photos to see how Sagar's home was affected and the devastation we saw during our time in Nepal.
With love,
Andi and Nick
Nepal was struck by a devasting earthquake in April 2015, killing over 8,000 people and injuring 21,000. With a magnitude of 7.8, we expected to see serious damage, but we were not prepared for the level of destruction we witnessed. For 21 days we trekked through the Everest region, an area hit the hardest by the quake, hearing stories from locals, discussing their experience during the tragedy and process of rebuilding. We learned that the Nepali government has been very slow to react and at the time of our trek, those affected had been given a mere $150 to rebuild their homes.
During the trek we learned that our guide Sagar and his family had also been severly affected, not only losing the family home his parents parents built 10 years earlier, but subsequently living in a temporary inadequate outdoor shelter, leaving them vulnerable to the harsh Nepal winter and limited access to food and clean water.
Sagar has been a government guide for 2 years and in the field for 5 years, continuing to work diligently to raise money to rebuild their home with little help from the government. The money that has been raised thus far is tied up for political reasons and Sagar and family are only a few of thousands of victims that are struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives.
During our trek, we spoke extensively about what it would take to rebuild their home and were shocked to find out that they only need $3500. Since tourism was down significantly in the last year, the opportunity to earn money and rebuild is taking even longer.
Our experience in Nepal has changed our lives forever and Sagar was a huge part of that, so we are reaching out to our friends and family at home to help make a difference in their lives. Our goal is to raise the $3500 needed to rebuild by the time we return to Nepal in early May, 2016. A small donation in this part of the world goes a long way and we can't express our gratitude enough for showing interest and participating in Sagar's cause.
Please take a look through the photos to see how Sagar's home was affected and the devastation we saw during our time in Nepal.
With love,
Andi and Nick