People in mayo urged to support nepal relief efforts

Trócaire, which is supporting the distribution of shelter and other vital aid to people affected by the weekend’s earthquake in Nepal, has launched an emergency appeal and is requesting the support of people in Mayo to fund an emergency response.

People can donate to Trócaire’s emergency appeal at trocaire.org or by phoning 1850 408 408.

Approximately 2,000 people are known to have died in the earthquake, with many more left homeless. The numbers of dead and wounded continue to rise and the scale of the response needed is likely to be huge given that the situation in some areas of the country is not yet clear.

Trócaire is working with partner organisations in the Caritas network of humanitarian agencies in Nepal. The Caritas network is currently arranging for 2,000 shelters, 167,000 water purification tablets and over 40,000 hygiene kits to be distributed to affected communities in the coming days.

Noreen Gumbo, Trócaire’s Head of Humanitarian programmes, said that people in Ireland can support the relief efforts over the coming days and weeks.

“We are working through Caritas partners to reach people affected by the earthquake,” she said.

“Already Caritas is moving pre-positioned supplies into Nepal by land from India and will be procuring additional relief materials locally and in India over the coming days.

'Initial relief activities are focused on temporary shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene. Because damaged buildings are not safe to re-enter yet, especially with continuing aftershocks, many families are sleeping outside and require shelter and protection from the cold and rain.”

One of Trócaire’s main partners in the country is Caritas Nepal. Fr. Pius Perumana, Director of Caritas Nepal, said that this was the worst earthquake to hit the country in over 80 years and said the scale of need will be enormous.

'Rescue is the still the main priority at the moment,” he said. “Lots of people have lost their homes and are out on the streets or in open spaces at 11 and 15 degrees Celsius’ temperature overnight, so we will be looking to provide them with food and temporary shelter.

'There have been 66 minor aftershocks and another major earthquake today, which is a usually a rare phenomena in such a short period. The damage will be devastating with this recent earthquake.'

Prakash Khadha, also of Caritas Nepal, said that many areas of the country have still not been reached by rescue workers.

“We have had over 60 big aftershocks,” he said. “People are panicking and everyone is in the street and staying out of the home but the problem is that it might rain soon. In some parts of the country it is raining and there are no medical supplies and no electricity. People cannot get through on their mobile phones, so these are the major challenges. People are hungry; they have no place to sleep, and no place to live in. The roads are also blocked.”