Rebuild Nepal
Donation protected
On Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 11:56AM, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal. It lasted approximately 20 seconds, but caused catastrophic damage all across the country, reaching bordering countries including India, China, and Bangladesh. 17 days later, on May 12, 2015 at 12:50PM, a second earthquake struck Nepal. This quake registered a magnitude of 7.3. Between the two earthquakes, more than 900,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, 9,000 people were killed, and over 23,000 people were injured. In the Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal, one of the worst affected areas, nearly 95% of the homes were destroyed.
Nearly a year later, many people are still without permanent homes and live in temporary shelters. Parts of Kathmandu remain in ruins, with people still clearing the rubble by hand.
Who am I?
I am Sean "Veghead" Laurent and I am a Site Reliability Engineer with Google in San Francisco. In January, I was fortunate to be selected to travel to Nepal to help with the rebuilding efforts.
What am I doing?
Between March 18th, 2016 and March 27th, 2016, I will be traveling with Effect.org and 11 other Googlers to Kathmandu, Nepal. We will see, first hand, the challenges that Nepal faces. We will get our hands dirty, working with locals and we will gain a deeper understanding of the problems through direct involvement with non-profits, local leaders and lawmakers. Finally we will participate in a 54 hour hackathon, combining our skills and expertise to create tech-focused solutions to improve disaster relief in Nepal and the quality of life for the Nepali people.
What can you do to help? I am trying to raise $2,500 to help fund Effect.org for my volunteering time in Kathmandu. For every dollar we raise, Google will donate a matching dollar to Effect.org, bring us up the $5,000 that Effect.org needs to cover my trip. This money is strictly to support Effect.org and goes toward the costs of my volunteer time in Nepal.
Where is the money going?
Any money raised beyond our will goal will be donated directly to Effect.org.
Thank You!
Every dollar you donate will make a difference and I greatly appreciate your support. I will do my best to document some of my journy via Instagram @organicveggie, so please feel free to follow along. Also, please check out http://effect.org/technology-rebuild-nepal for more details on Effect.org and our expedition.
What about Mount Everest?
After the volunteer work is over, I will remain in Nepal for another 2.5 weeks. It has been a long time dream of mine to see the Himalayas, so I will spend two weeks hiking up to Everest Base Camp at 17,598 ft (5,364m) and the neighboring Kala Pattar "mountain" at 18,519 ft (5,644m). The Sherpas of the Himalayas were also hard hit by the earthquakes and have seen little support from the government. With most of the villages located in extremely remote areas accessible only on foot, rebuilding efforts have been slow. Eco-tourism is a simple, yet effective method to help pour money back into these remote Himalayan villages. Many of the small villages are depending on a successfull 2016 tourism season to keep their families afloat.
None of the money raised through GoFundMe will be used for my trek to Everest; all money will go directly to Effect.org
Nearly a year later, many people are still without permanent homes and live in temporary shelters. Parts of Kathmandu remain in ruins, with people still clearing the rubble by hand. Who am I?I am Sean "Veghead" Laurent and I am a Site Reliability Engineer with Google in San Francisco. In January, I was fortunate to be selected to travel to Nepal to help with the rebuilding efforts.
What am I doing?
Between March 18th, 2016 and March 27th, 2016, I will be traveling with Effect.org and 11 other Googlers to Kathmandu, Nepal. We will see, first hand, the challenges that Nepal faces. We will get our hands dirty, working with locals and we will gain a deeper understanding of the problems through direct involvement with non-profits, local leaders and lawmakers. Finally we will participate in a 54 hour hackathon, combining our skills and expertise to create tech-focused solutions to improve disaster relief in Nepal and the quality of life for the Nepali people.
What can you do to help? I am trying to raise $2,500 to help fund Effect.org for my volunteering time in Kathmandu. For every dollar we raise, Google will donate a matching dollar to Effect.org, bring us up the $5,000 that Effect.org needs to cover my trip. This money is strictly to support Effect.org and goes toward the costs of my volunteer time in Nepal.
Where is the money going?
Any money raised beyond our will goal will be donated directly to Effect.org.Thank You!
Every dollar you donate will make a difference and I greatly appreciate your support. I will do my best to document some of my journy via Instagram @organicveggie, so please feel free to follow along. Also, please check out http://effect.org/technology-rebuild-nepal for more details on Effect.org and our expedition.
What about Mount Everest?
After the volunteer work is over, I will remain in Nepal for another 2.5 weeks. It has been a long time dream of mine to see the Himalayas, so I will spend two weeks hiking up to Everest Base Camp at 17,598 ft (5,364m) and the neighboring Kala Pattar "mountain" at 18,519 ft (5,644m). The Sherpas of the Himalayas were also hard hit by the earthquakes and have seen little support from the government. With most of the villages located in extremely remote areas accessible only on foot, rebuilding efforts have been slow. Eco-tourism is a simple, yet effective method to help pour money back into these remote Himalayan villages. Many of the small villages are depending on a successfull 2016 tourism season to keep their families afloat.
None of the money raised through GoFundMe will be used for my trek to Everest; all money will go directly to Effect.org
Organizer
Sean Laurent
Organizer
San Francisco, CA