It’s hard to believe but it is already more than six months since two devastating earthquakes rocked Nepal within the space of two weeks. The effects were cataclysmic – almost 9,000 people died, and 2.8 million Nepalis were displaced.

Thanks to generous donations from so many friends and supporters we raised over £110,000, which we have been using over the last six months to help the poorest and most marginalised families in the aftermath of the earthquake – those who after a lifetime of discrimination feel they aren’t entitled to support and are reluctant to go to the authorities for fear of how they will be treated.

These donations allowed us to extend our work to Dhading, a district badly affected by the quake, and help families there stay and rebuild their lives in their own villages rather than having to migrate to the city. We have established twelve Protection and Wellbeing Centres for under 5s, which provide a safe place for parents to leave their children, as well as learning activities, nutritional support and crucial psychosocial support. Your donations mean that more than 2,000 people have received relief materials in Gorkha district; 203 displaced children have been provided with full support into formal education; 645 children are benefitting from the use of our protection and wellbeing centres; and 1,125 family members have benefitted from counselling, support to access services and material support in Dhading.

Within Pokhara, we extended our existing outreach in slum areas to identify families who were forced to migrate to the city. We’re working with more than 170 families; helping them to access the support to which they are entitled; helping them to cover basic needs such as food, clothing and healthcare; providing small amounts of financial support and helping to get their children into school - supporting more than 280 children back into education.

But the work doesn’t stop there. While the country’s resilience is extraordinary, it has been a very difficult few months in Nepal and therefore in Kidasha. This is due in part dto the earthquake, but worsened more recently by serious political unrest in the south of the country, which has triggered an unofficial Indian trade embargo. The embargo has resulted in severe fuel shortages, increased pressure on food supplies and, needless to say, rising prices. It’s making earthquake recovery even more difficult and so many people are still living in tents and temporary shelters, which with winter coming is a grave concern.  Another major issue is the increased vulnerability of the very poorest families, many of whom are migrating in search of work and ending up living in city slums. Due to the increased financial desperation of these parents after the earthquake, more children are at risk of ending up in institutions, child labour or worse - being trafficked into brothels. The situation has reached breaking point, and the Nepalese government and UN are warning of yet another humanitarian crisis, and a threat to the future of the country itself.

Read more at The Guardian

I’m heading out to Nepal in a couple of weeks, and while I am excited to see the progress we have made with our earthquake projects, I’m sure it will be sobering to see the effects of the latest troubles throughout the country, particularly on the many families who already struggle so much without these added concerns.

I realise with Christmas so close, everyone will no doubt be inundated by appeals from many worthy causes and of course it is impossible to support them all. But I would ask you to bear in mind that while Nepal may have dropped off the media radar, there is still so much to be done. With winter coming and the added difficulty and danger caused by the blockade, Nepal’s children urgently need your help. 

Thank you so much for all of your support