The Pokharel Family of Nepal

Aneesha Pokharel and her family of Kathmandu, Nepal have been seriously affected by the earthquakes that have struck the region. Over the past few weeks I have been in contact with Aneesha as she shares her bravery, courage, pride and stregth. A combination of aftershocks, the monsoon rains, and deadly landslides have continued to put the people of Nepal in danger.  

Aneesha and her family have to evacuate their third story home to take shelter outside due to its instability. Aneesha and her family need two rain proof tents to live in. They are able to purchase the tents locally in Nepal. However, the tents are expenesive due to the regional supply and demand. In a time of crisis, spending roughly $1000 U.S. Dollars on tents is unaffordable. This is also a very urgent matter as the monsoon rains have just begun.

After discussion and research, it has been determined that the easiest way to help Aneesha and the Pokharel family is to raise the funding for the tents on gofundme under my name. Once the goal is achieved, I will then wire Aneesha the funds. 

I cannot stress how inspiring it has been to be a friend of Aneesha and to watch her continueally rise from the rubble that her country is buried in. In her own words, 

"Despite all these adversities, I could see the ray of hope; the sense of togetherness, brotherhood and unity that had been fading away from our society is rekindling. Rich, poor, high, low, Brahmin, newar, tamang, gurung, kshetri, madhesi are all together in a tarp, holding each other, sharing their food, consoling one another. Amidst the unbearable suffering we are going through, the picture of unity was heart-warming for me. Every time there was a quake, we’d hold unto each other gazing up in the sky, praying to our own Gods to have mercy upon us and rest of the time, we talked, laughed like long lost friends. We are clearing the mess, removing the broken bricks and wooden planks, supporting each other in the time of grief. This is what our society had been lacking in recent years.

May be this is what our shattered, crumbled temples, monuments are trying to say. We have had enough clashes in the name of religion, castes, and ethnicity. We were too eager to divide the nation and taken our cultural heritage for granted. Since they are no longer among us, we now realize their importance. We had forgotten the sense of unity in diversity that Prithvi Narayan Shah had instilled among us long back. We have been provided this opportunity to correct our mistakes and build our nation collectively from every nook and corner towards prosperity. We can now drag our country from of the quagmire of inequality and poverty if directed towards right direction and with proper vision."

Aneesha's First Hand Account

Aneesha shared that "we Nepalese have a wonderful habit of smiling even in the face of adversity." Since the first quake struck, I have asked how we can help time and time again. Yet, Aneesha still finds a way to ask me how my day was, wishing me well or laughing. On May 24th I recieved a message from Aneesha starting with "finally I am asking you for some help."

This is an oppotunity for us all to help Aneesha and her family directly. To support her optomism and faith the the goodness of the world! 

Aneesha and I will be sure to keep each and every one who donates updated about the saftey of her family.



Did I mention that Aneesha and her family have helped donate food, warm clothes, medicine, sanitary pads to more affected areas of the region?



My relationship with Aneesha: I have been a friend of Aneesha's since early 2014 through connections and networking after I lived in Hyderabad, India in 2012. As two advocates for girls' education and breaking down the glass ceiling for women and girls everywhere we have stayed very close. I have the ability to maintain a gofundme account more effieicently due to my consistent internet access in California and will be able to directly wire the money to Aneesha.

Aneesha's #GirlHero Feature Blog on Peace Beneath Her Feet