Dear Shanghai Community,
Tragedies, such as the one in Nepal, are always hardest when they strike people we know. We want to share this very personal appeal for help in Nepal as it comes from our Finance Business Manager, Avi Pandey, who is a valued colleague and a trusted friend at ELG. He flew back to Nepal this week to help his parents who live just outside Kathmandu.
The ELG family has rallied towards this effort and we are making a donation as well as facilitating the donation process for our staff. We also wanted to appeal to our community and hope you will respond by donating generously. We have only listed a few charities that are accepting money, but there are many others doing great work.
From Avi
As most of you may have heard, there was a massive earthquake in Nepal last Saturday, April 25th, which destroyed the capital city Kathmandu in unimaginable ways. Kathmandu, which used to be known in the world as The City of Temples, has turned into a pile of rubble. Most of the major world heritage sites are gone and the whole face of the City is changed. I will not recognize my city anymore when I go there.
It is a big loss for the country to have so many major sites that represent and define it destroyed in seconds, but the bigger loss are the citizens who lost their lives mostly because of the collapsing buildings and temples. Today, there are 4,800 confirmed deaths and more than 6,000 injured, and that number is going to keep growing. Until now we are mostly seeing the picture and scale of disaster of the capital city Kathmandu. But slowly it is emerging that entire towns and villages in the country side (which covers 80% of the country) are completely flattened. I saw one picture of a village with 1,000 houses where only 4 houses are standing now. There is still no report on the casualties.
The scale of this disaster would be unimaginable for any country but for a country like Nepal with limited resources, this is a disaster of epic proportion. Nepal is not ready to handle and overcome this grief without support from the world community. As with any natural disaster, the aftermath is as chaotic as the event itself. Fortunately, we have many good friends in external communities who are already starting to provide the support in the form of rescue effort, medicine, shelter, food and water. However, what is crucial is this effort should continue for many months to come. Organizations which are already on the ground need ongoing funding to keep their effort going for as long as there is need.
For this reason, ELG is supporting Nepal through this mailing to appeal to our community to make a donation of whatever size to support this cause of helping people in Nepal survive and overcome this pain. First priority for now is to provide medicine, shelter, food, and water to the survivors. There are many organizations that are accepting donations, here are a few that we’ve heard are good:
Shelterbox
https://www.shelterbox.org/donate.php
Give2Asia
http://www.give2asia.org/
Embassy of Nepal in Beijing
http://nepalembassy.org.cn/earthquake-relief-contribution/
I cannot explain how proud I am to be a part of the ELG family for their nonstop willingness to support and help people in need. Thanks to all my colleagues for all the support you showed during this tough time and for your kind words.
I will hold dear in my heart any contribution that you will be able to give to this cause for the years to come.
Thank you!
Avi Pandey
Finance Business Manager
The Essential Learning Group
Avi Pandey
Finance Business Manager
Avi is the Finance Business Manager at The Essential Learning Group, and is originally from Nepal. He oversees the accounts and finances of the company, and is a valuable member of our ELG team.