Will You Please Help Nepal?

Barbara Arnett is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

huge trucks hauled supplies for a day and a half

Tractors then took the supplies across rivers and through the mud for another day"

100 porters carried everything for 7 hours up narrow mountain paths to the village

We live in Northville, Michigan but have had a small business based in Nepal for 15 years and have worked very closely with many wonderful, kind, and generous Nepalese people. The earthquakes have reduced many of their homes to rubble, but we have been able to build new small temporary homes for them because of my friend Tenzi, who has been my partner and "brother" the entire time.

Now we are working to help the people in an extremely remote village, Rawadolu Bhusinga, that has yet to receive any assistance. This is the "hometown" of my friend Tenzi, approximately several hours by car from Kathmandu before the roads were destroyed or landslides covered them. Now it is very, very isolated and the people are desperate. Prior to the earthquake, the village was comprised of 700 homes. After the first earthquakes and hundreds of strong aftershocks, only 400 were left standing. After the second round of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks (which continue to this day), not one home was left. All were totally destroyed, and the few belongings of the inhabitants were buried in the rubble. The photo on this page is of one of the gentlemen who lives there. Imagine trying to re-build this home - at his age and with no money - and ever feel "safe" again. The people are, understandably, terrified to enter any building constructed of rocks or bricks or any type of stone because of the constant and very scary aftershocks.

So it is this tiny village that we are trying to help. We have received some very, very generous donations and are using that money to purchase hundreds of tents, tarpaulins, etc. However, harvest time is here, and there is absolutely nowhere to store the crops. They obviously can't be left outside for the insects and critters to eat, or to just go bad from the elements. We are frantically trying to organize the building of storage facilities to protect these crops so that the people have food to eat this year. These wonderful, kind and gentle people are basically subsistence farmers and the crops that they grow have historically sustained the entire village for the year. Right now, without your help, it's looking rather grim for all of them.

However, my partner has organized huge trucks to bring the supplies as close to the village as possible (you have seen the photos, undoubtedly, of cracked, destroyed, and boulder-covered, impassable roads), and gigantic tractors to bring the supplies even closer. Still, it is extremely difficult terrain in the Himalayas, so he has organized approximately 100 porters to carry 100 lbs EACH for the 7-hour trip to the village. This is the ONLY way to get the desperately needed building materials for the tents and storage facilities to the village in time to protect the food.

On top of that, monsoon season is upon us and could begin at any time. The buildings absolutely have to be in place quickly because once everything is drenched from torrential downpours and the ground is nothing but deep mud, the unbelievable hardships the villagers already face would be far worse. Every cent we raise is going directly to relief efforts conducted by 1,000% trusted people who are on the ground in Nepal and who can expedite the entire process. This is an opportunity to make a donation where NONE of the money is used for "administrative purposes and handling", (except a small percentage to GoFundMe- about 7%) or where your money gets caught up in some giant snafu and is ultimately wasted. We are asking for everyone's help because time is of the essence, because these are extremely poor people who have absolutely no resources of their own, and because we are all connected in this world and it is the right thing to do. Thanks for any amount you can donate.
Barbara and Tom Arnett