Rebuilding Nepal's Villages

On Saturday April 25th a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal just outside of the capital city of Kathmandu, causing major damage, death and injury throughout the area and even across borders into China, India, Tibet, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Homes have been destroyed, centuries-old cultural landmarks lay in ruins, and one of the poorest nations on earth is in a dire situation as it seeks to rebuild. The goal of this fund is to help rural mountain communities and villages rebuild.

Many excellent aid efforts are underway at the national level, and on the ground in Nepal is Mountain Madness  guide and Changing Lives Nepal  co-founder Deana Zabaldo.

Deana says: "In the villages where our Sherpa and Rai staff come from, and throughout the region, homes are completely destroyed or so damaged that it would be dangerous to stay inside. Their families are displaced and have no shelter. We want to help them rebuild. The cost to rebuild and repair homes is roughly $5000-$10000 each. We will help as many people as we can."

Deana was in Namche Bazaar in the Everest region when the quake struck, having just left Kathmandu a few days earlier to guide an Everest Base Camp trek for 20 Americans and Canadians. Deana, the trekking group, and 26 Nepali staff are still in remote Nepal. In addition to being an award-winning trekking guide for Mountain Madness, Deana has worked in Nepal for 17 years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and now as a guide and as co-founder of a nonprofit supporting local leaders and sustainable community development. She is deeply connected to the local communities and is in a unique position to hand the donations directly to the people who most need them to rebuild their homes.

NOTE: While Changing Lives Nepal is a donor fund and will continue its work with communities, this fundraising account is being established, which is NOT tax-deductible, in order to directly assist village families. We want the funds to flow as quickly and directly as possible to the hands of those who need them, so this fund is set up to pass the funds directly to them through Deana. We continue to be all-volunteer in the U.S. and we do not take any part of your donations for salaries or administration. If you prefer to make a tax-deductible donation to long-term community efforts please go to www.changinglivesnepal.org/donate.

Thank you all for you concern and support for the people of Nepal.

(Namche Bazaar a few days before the quake:)

Annie Bacon and Shannon Jenkins have set up and are monitoring/updating this account for Deana. We are not only friends of Deana's, but donors to Changing Lives Nepal because of their incredible integrity in supporting local leaders to do the work that is locally defined as needed. If you have questions we'll be answering many of them as Deana's access to Internet is spotty at the moment. We will be adding photos and updates as they become available.