- T
- M
Rebuilding in Kathmandu Valley - with Jeff and Sheila Carmines
Surya Lama's Home:
Sheila and I are requesting donations to help a friend of ours that lives half a world away in Kathmandu, Nepal. In April 2015, the Kathmandu Valley was devastated by a powerful earthquake. At that time, Surya Lama lived with his family in his hometown, a small village 50 miles east of Kathmandu. When the quake hit, he and his mother and youngest brother were able to escape from their home safely. The rest of his family was in Kathmandu that day and were also unharmed. However, their home was severely damaged and they were all forced to relocate to Kathmandu. Surya’s family is currently scattered and living with various cousins in Kathmandu. The entire area is facing issues concerning clean water, sanitation, energy, starvation, rebuilding, etc.
We were shocked to learn 1. To date (a year later), his family of 5 has only received 10,000 Nepalese Rupees in aid (equal to $100) and 2. It would only cost $17,000 to rebuild their home. Our goal is for us to raise at least $20,000 to send to this family to rebuild their home and bring the family back together and raise their standard of living back to its previous level and show these people in one of the most remote areas on earth the kindness and generosity of our friends and family. Sheila and I are personally donating $1,000 to start this fund and we hope as many of you in cyberspace that can, will also donate. I thank you for your support in this effort to help Surya and his family!
The deadline for receiving your donations is 7/31/2016.
Sheila and I were fortunate enough to visit Kathmandu in the fall of 2015. One of our bucket list items on that trip was to spend a day hiking through the lower slopes of the Himalayas. Our hotel arranged a guide. Surya, a slightly-built man and about Sheila’s height, showed up on beautiful sunny day and off we went. The driver then took us up, up, up out of the city and into the “hills” north of Kathmandu to a National Park (at 7,000 ft elevation). The park had a dirt road/trail that led us through the beautiful forests and mountains of the Himalayas. As we walked uphill on the outboard portion, we had views of the valley below and the surrounding countryside and we had plenty of time on our 5-hour hike to quiz him about his life.
Sheila and Surya on the trail:
We found out that tourism is probably the biggest industry in Kathmandu and that Surya is a trekking guide. He has hiked all over the Himalayas on big expeditions and hiked major peaks (but not Mt. Everest). His entire family is involved in the trekking business. He said because of the earthquake, tourism was close to nonexistent and he had very little business all summer. I got the sense that he would take any trekking job he could get at this point (like leading a pair of novices through this half-day hike). He lived in a small room in his cousin’s house in Kathmandu and had been camped out there ever since the earthquake. His brother, sister, mother, and father are all split between various family member's houses.
Surya with a condemned monastery building behind him:
During our hike, the path led us through a Buddhist Monastery. We stopped there on the way up to take in the view (stunning!). We also saw damage to the main temple there and one of the dormitories and both buildings were taped off and condemned/uninhabitable. As we walked, we found out more about the devastation that occurred and about the dire straits that most of Surya’s friends were facing. I couldn’t believe it would only cost $17,000 to rebuild their home. Compared to the U.S. and the D.C. area where we live, this seemed like such a small amount to me—an amount that could be raised by us and my friends and business partners.
Surya was a kind, generous, and gracious host. In fact, everyone we met in Kathmandu had that same air of graciousness and peacefulness. In order to help his family through GoFundMe, please give today! It would mean the world to me and Sheila to be able to help out this family.
Surya Lama's Home:
Sheila and I are requesting donations to help a friend of ours that lives half a world away in Kathmandu, Nepal. In April 2015, the Kathmandu Valley was devastated by a powerful earthquake. At that time, Surya Lama lived with his family in his hometown, a small village 50 miles east of Kathmandu. When the quake hit, he and his mother and youngest brother were able to escape from their home safely. The rest of his family was in Kathmandu that day and were also unharmed. However, their home was severely damaged and they were all forced to relocate to Kathmandu. Surya’s family is currently scattered and living with various cousins in Kathmandu. The entire area is facing issues concerning clean water, sanitation, energy, starvation, rebuilding, etc.
We were shocked to learn 1. To date (a year later), his family of 5 has only received 10,000 Nepalese Rupees in aid (equal to $100) and 2. It would only cost $17,000 to rebuild their home. Our goal is for us to raise at least $20,000 to send to this family to rebuild their home and bring the family back together and raise their standard of living back to its previous level and show these people in one of the most remote areas on earth the kindness and generosity of our friends and family. Sheila and I are personally donating $1,000 to start this fund and we hope as many of you in cyberspace that can, will also donate. I thank you for your support in this effort to help Surya and his family!
The deadline for receiving your donations is 7/31/2016.
Sheila and I were fortunate enough to visit Kathmandu in the fall of 2015. One of our bucket list items on that trip was to spend a day hiking through the lower slopes of the Himalayas. Our hotel arranged a guide. Surya, a slightly-built man and about Sheila’s height, showed up on beautiful sunny day and off we went. The driver then took us up, up, up out of the city and into the “hills” north of Kathmandu to a National Park (at 7,000 ft elevation). The park had a dirt road/trail that led us through the beautiful forests and mountains of the Himalayas. As we walked uphill on the outboard portion, we had views of the valley below and the surrounding countryside and we had plenty of time on our 5-hour hike to quiz him about his life.
Sheila and Surya on the trail:
We found out that tourism is probably the biggest industry in Kathmandu and that Surya is a trekking guide. He has hiked all over the Himalayas on big expeditions and hiked major peaks (but not Mt. Everest). His entire family is involved in the trekking business. He said because of the earthquake, tourism was close to nonexistent and he had very little business all summer. I got the sense that he would take any trekking job he could get at this point (like leading a pair of novices through this half-day hike). He lived in a small room in his cousin’s house in Kathmandu and had been camped out there ever since the earthquake. His brother, sister, mother, and father are all split between various family member's houses.
Surya with a condemned monastery building behind him:
During our hike, the path led us through a Buddhist Monastery. We stopped there on the way up to take in the view (stunning!). We also saw damage to the main temple there and one of the dormitories and both buildings were taped off and condemned/uninhabitable. As we walked, we found out more about the devastation that occurred and about the dire straits that most of Surya’s friends were facing. I couldn’t believe it would only cost $17,000 to rebuild their home. Compared to the U.S. and the D.C. area where we live, this seemed like such a small amount to me—an amount that could be raised by us and my friends and business partners.
Surya was a kind, generous, and gracious host. In fact, everyone we met in Kathmandu had that same air of graciousness and peacefulness. In order to help his family through GoFundMe, please give today! It would mean the world to me and Sheila to be able to help out this family.