We’re Claire and Prashant. A married couple with a son living in Pittsburgh, PA. Prashant is originally from Golche, a village in the district of Sindhupalchok in Nepal. We invite you to come along with us as we try to rebuild Prashant’s hometown.

The short: Golche was hit very hard by the Earthquake, and all the buildings in the village have been destroyed. This is our home village and we want to help our community get back on its feet. We want to rebuild the school, the access to drinking water and begin construction of 50 households. This will cost $50,000 US.

The long: Early in the morning of April 25, I (Claire) was up feeding our baby and looking at Facebook when I saw there had been an earthquake in Nepal. Immediately, I wondered if this was “The Big One.” We’d been warned that a devastating earthquake could hit anytime. These large earthquakes occur about every 80 years, and the last one was in 1934.

As word spread that it was in fact “The Big One,” we spent the next few days trying to reach our friends and family in Nepal. Facebook made it easy to check in on friends in Kathmandu, but Golche is a very remote area that was hard to reach even before the earthquake.

News trickled in that, thankfully, Prashant’s parents survived the earthquake. Unfortunately, the village was destroyed. Some relatives were injured and a few did not survive. We feel helpless as we watch from afar.

As of this posting, more than 7,000 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise. Aid is pouring in from all over the world, but has yet to reach Prashant’s family. Golche has rarely had outside aid or intervention because it is a.) difficult to reach and b.) prior to the earthquake, self-sufficient. Sustainability of our efforts isn’t a concern because once the village is back on its feet, everyone there will again thrive.

We want to send the village money to help them rebuild. Prashant will go to Golche at the end of Summer 2015 to help. In addition, his brother in Kathmandu is a great help for communicating and coordinating with the village.

This is our family, and Prashant’s childhood home. The Nepali people are resilient and strong. Please join us in helping to rebuild Golche by giving, attending one of our events, volunteering and praying.