Help Abby Volunteer in Nepal

Why Nepal?
"On April 25th, a 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal near the capital city of Kathmandu. As Nepal suffers from its worst earthquake in more than 80 years, reports continue to come in with increasing numbers of fatalities and mass destruction to infrastructure and homes. Aftershocks still shake the country and those who lost their homes are vulnerable to this continued danger. Basic necessities of livelihood continue to be at risk, including access to food, clean water and sanitation. The government of Nepal declared a state of emergency and asked for international agencies to lend support. That’s where All Hands comes in..."
(via hands.org)

(infographic via hands.org)

Why do I want to be involved?
If you've known me long enough, you know that I was able to volunteer in Haiti with All Hands in 2010 and 2011 following their devastating 7.0 earthquake, and what those experiences meant to me.

Playing with the children in Leogane in 2010.

"All Hands Volunteers is a US-based, 501(c)3 non-profit organization, that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters by engaging and leveraging volunteers, partner organizations and local communities. They aim to demonstrate the power and value of volunteerism through the tangible work done, the hope it brings to suffering communities, and the transformative experiences it provides for volunteers." (via hands.org)

After the Haiti earthquake, I felt driven to go and do something. I found All Hands after searching online for ways to help and took a chance on them (and myself) and bought a plane ticket to go volunteer. That decision remains one of the best that I've made during my 30 years on this planet. When I read about the earthquake in Nepal I felt the familiar tug in my heart to go and do something. With the blessing of wonderfully flexible employers and supportive friends and family, I applied to join this project and was accepted to go volunteer for 3 weeks in August. 

Removing rubble from a family's property so that they could start to rebuild, 2011. 

"Plaza Playtime" with children in Leogane, 2010. 


How can you get involved?

I was able to raise 30% of my financial goal for this trip by having garage sales with donated items (yay!).

Donations for the remaining amount will go toward:
-my plane ticket
-work visa
-travel insurance
-medical precautions (travel vaccines that aren't covered by my health insurance, malaria prophylactics, etc)
-any supplies that I don't already own
-meals one day a week (All Hands gives you a safe place to live and covers your 3 meals a day during the 6 day work week)

Any funds raised that remain after my trip, I will be donating directly to All Hands. 

If you feel inspired to donate, I would greatly appreciate it. If you can't donate, I would love if you could share this page. If you can't do either, thank you for reading this all the way to the end - high five!

Thank you again,
Abby