The powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday April 25th, 2015 left a wake of destruction in the beautiful country of Nepal which is so close to our hearts. At the time of the earthquake our Creative Director and Owner Joseph Carini was there overseeing our carpet production.
Although there was turmoil and pain, the people of Nepal had high spirits and are focused on helping each other out during rehabilitation. The photos (below) he took after the earthquake speak for themselves
Above: we brought water to thirsty soldiers who were working very hard in the rubble to save lives and recover bodies.
Joe Carini (center) with water on a rickshaw soon to be delivered to the staff and kids at Ghar Sita Mutu - House with a Heart.
The Children of the House with a Heart playing outside days after the earthquake. They sleep in tents in the yard and continue with their school lessons outside in the garden. We plan to keep helping them as they need to repair their home. There are a total of 17 Girls and 1 boy at the home presently. But during the crisis the home has given shelter to as many as 40 addition people who needed shelter and facilities.
The beautiful colonial building in this photo was the 1st private school in Nepal. Soldiers pass by on their way to do more relief work.
We bought cookies and Cadbury chocolate to distribute to the children of our weaver- artisans. The kids were really thrilled and they lined up to receive the bounty. There were 40 kids in total and each got lots of goodies.
We are very fortunate that there were no casualties in our immediate family of office staff, dyers, and weaving artisans. However, practically everyone has lost a friend or relative as well as property. This event was Nepal's biggest disaster within memory. Pictured above are their children enjoying chocolate and cookies. The boy's told Joe that they could sure use a soccer ball! we are sending a few by UPS now.
Below we have listed organizations we have seen in action and endorse for their continuous work in Nepal that we've seen first hand. By donating to these companies your donations will be going straight to the Nepalese people in need.
American Nepal Medical Foundation
ANMF has been working in Nepal for decades and knows the ins and out of Nepal's local hospitals, clinics, and medical personnel. All members are volunteers and all of the money raised goes straight to Nepal.
GoodWeave
GoodWeave works to end child labor and trafficking across South Asia. In Nepal they are able to reach out to thousands of victims and ensure rescue and rehabilitation teams. We have worked with GoodWeave for over a decade and hold a strong relationship with them.
Ghar Sita Mutu
House with Heart was founded as a charity in 2001 by Beverly Bronson, a volunteer social worker in Nepal. Joe Carini has visited the orphanage several times before and seeing the damage to their house first hand he knows how much help they need.
www. gharsitamutu.com
