Keep Kathmandu From Going Hungry

Hello friends, a brief intro: I'm Zak, a language student from NY and recent Columbia University graduate currently living in Kathmandu. As you may be aware, Nepal is now facing tremendous difficulties. The new strains of coronavirus that have been laying waste to India are doing the same here at roughly the same rate (PCR positivity rate is around 40-50%). We are under strict lockdown now which may prevent the level of chaos we see in India, but this also means that day laborers and their families will suffer from malnutrition. Many can only eat if there's a day's wage to pay for it, so already people are desperate. Horrified by the utter lack of government intervention, I have decided, along with my friend and co-organizer Romash, to fundraise to feed 100 families in need here. The money will be used to purchase four staple items: rice, beans, salt and oil. Just $30 will purchase one package which will feed a family of four for about two weeks.

Last year, after the close of a crippling four-month covid lockdown, Romash asked me how we could help provide food to families in need in the village where he's from. The people there had been out of work and surviving on rice soup for months. At that time we fundraised and delivered a total of $4,040 worth of food to 70 families. Now, with a lockdown from April 29 to May 14 that will almost certainly be extended, the best we can do is a small-scale delivery operation in Kathmandu. In three steps, this is how it'll go: (1) you offer what you can; (2) I receive the funds in my US account and transfer them to Romash; (3) Romash purchases family-size food packages from a wholesaler and then delivers them with the help of the wholesaler who has a small delivery van. Vehicles are not allowed on the roads after 10AM, but Romash, being the wizard that he is, has a police-issued pass and can move about as needed. He will make sure those most in need are served first and later I'll post pictures to show you how your donation was spent. Sound groovy?

Below are some of the pictures from our last campaign:

Romash and I. Lotta hair and no hair.

There's no question that surviving an epidemic is infinitely more difficult when one is hungry and worrying how they'll find food let alone how they'll handle a potentially lethal infection. And that's just food - what about rent, gas, water, electricity and so on? If we can keep people fed until the lockdown lifts and they return to work that would be ideal, but that day may only come in late summer, so please be generous and share this within your circles. 

Thank you very much. Peace and love,

Zak and Romash