Update: Nepal Relief Activities and Resources

[Dan]

UPDATE 5/6 The football tournament this past weekend raised over 12,000RMB all of which will be donated to Shelterbox. Thank you ADI Sports for organizing the event, Rotary of Chengdu for helping organize and promote, the Spot and Johnny 5 Donuts for catering food, and everyone who showed up to play and donated money to the cause. Read below for more updates on donation options.

• Food and clothing donations
  • Read Hyobin’s response below regarding food and clothing donations. These are not the highest-priority items for relief right now. Getting money to on-the-ground NGOs is most important at this stage.
• Shelter Boxes
  • The Rotary Club of Chengdu is partnering with Shelter Box to provide food, shelter, and clean water to those who need it. If you’re not familiar with Shelter Box, it’s essentially a ~1000USD disaster relief kit that provides food, shelter, and water for families. Get more info on their Facebook, their donation page, their FAQ section
  • If you want to get in touch with the Rotary Club in Chengdu here’s their contact info: [email protected] 
• Cash Donations
  • The majority of aid right now is going to Kathmandu, as much of the damage has been done there. However, remote areas have also been damaged severely. Donating to NGOs doing work in remote areas is one of the most impactful ways to make a difference. I’ve been talking with Mary Carroll of the Nepal Foundation who is spearheading one such effort, helping rebuild the BasaKhai Secondary School which taught over 400 students and was the community center for health camps, award ceremonies, agriculture fairs, play ground and visitor ceremonies.a school and community. Visit the Nepal Foundation’s website to find out how you can contribute to their effort.
  • For bank account transfers to the the Nepal government: Nepal’s government has made available bank accounts which you can transfer money to and are putting money directly towards disaster relief. I’ve attached the official document published by the government with the bank account information, so click on the attachment if that is how you would like to donate money.
  • Unicef China is taking donations through Zhifubao (Alipay) or online banking, so if you have those set up and can read Chinese you can do it through that.
  • Oxfam: you can donate to Oxfam following this link. They’re focusing on getting clean water to victims and ensuring sanitation
  • A huge list of legitimate organizations sending aid to Nepal.

I will update this post as I get more information.

[Dan]

TODAY 4/29 4:30 @ Rhombus Hotel Chengdu (address in attachment) BritCham and Rotary Club of Chengdu are holding a meeting on how individuals and companies can help the Nepal relief effort. Check the attachment for more details.

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[Dan]

UPDATE 2

• I’ve spoken with Rotary Club workers who’ve told me that word on the ground is clothing and food are, at the moment, not the most in-demand resources. This is due to several factors, but mainly because the airports are backed up with aid being flown in already, and it will be difficult to get the clothing to where it’s needed in a timely fashion. Money moves faster and cheaper, so the immediate relief needed now is money. Clothing and food drives will happen later on in the relief effort, so stay tuned!
• Wine bar La Cave will be donating 5 kuai from every Kir sold (French wine cocktail) to the Nepal disaster relief effort organized by UFE. Find the address and more information in the image attached to this comment.

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[hyobin]

@Dan, thanks for sharing.

Other things to consider when responding to crisis is to be mindful of conditions on the ground, dignity of human beings, and to really think about what is most needed and not just what “I” think or can do to “help”. There are better, more effective, and non-traditional ways to provide support and show solidarity to those surviving and rebuilding.

I found below two links really mindful and helpful:

1. Importance of transparency in organizations you choose to donate to / support, virtual volunteering is an important thing too, and to think LOCAL: https://storify.com/jeneambrose/want-to-help-in-nepal

2. Sharing good and reliable information is crucial and educating yourself about what’s happening is a must. this site is doing just that: http://www.ushahidi.com/2015/04/25/supporting-online-volunteer-response-to-the-nepal-earthquake/

[hyobin]

One more on how technology is being used for relief efforts:

[Dan]

Thanks @Hyobin those are some great resources. That Storify you shared really highlights a lot of the potential pitfalls of the emotional post-disaster desire to do good. A good primer on disaster relief charity in general.

I’m in touch with some local Nepali NGOs now and meeting with the Chengdu Rotary Club to find out how we can work together to help out some of these NGOs. I’ll have more information after that meeting tomorrow.

[hyobin]

I’m going to repeat this one again and maybe suggest even hosting an informal meet-up somewhere with wifi if people are interested in helping with mapping.

@Dan is this sort of a meet-up something you are interested in helping organize for folks in Chengdu can come together for a few hours and get some work done?

This is really a great way to aid relief efforts on the ground through using internet and can actually provide tangible changes!

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045527/one-way-you-can-help-nepal-right-now-all-you-need-is-a-computer-and-a-little-time?utm_source=facebook

 

[Dieter]

In light of the recent earthquake in Nepal, the Chengdu community will hold a Live Aid concert event on Friday, May 15th to raise money for the victims.

Join QSI for “Live Aid” for Nepal for a great evening of food, beer, and music by local bands. All proceeds from the evening will be donated to the carefully selected organizations.

The line-up so far (in no particular order):

The Blackout; Broken Clocks; Go Tell Tim; drum soloist Scott Thompson; QSI Children; Dance group; a band from Nepal; a Chinese singer; Funk Club (all drum band); violin soloist; classical ensemble with amazing cello soloist; Proximity Butterfly; a jam/improvisational band

Grab a bite to eat and a cold beer and enjoy the live music! Food sponsored by the Bookworm, Peter’s Tex Mex, and Happy Burrito. Beer provided by Duvel Moortgat and The Beer Nest.

All sorts of games for kids and goods to buy. Tickets are 50 rmb and can be purchased at the door. Doors open around 5pm. This is guaranteed to be fun and exciting for everyone!

Support this cause by what we like to do the most, drink, eat and listen to Live music.

100% of all proceeds are donated to charities

!! More info: QSI “Live Aid” for Nepal.

Date 日程: Friday May 15th

Time 时间: Starts 5pm

Venue 场地:

QSI, Quality Schools International
American Garden, No.188, 3 Road Ring Road, South Section 3

成都美国学校, 三环路南三段188号美洲花园

Ticket 门票: RMB 50 (100% goes to charity)

[Author]

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