Our story

We are a team of friends (Jimmy, Dilliram, Silshila, Shailendra, Sushil, Hardik and Saru) who are leading organisations in various fields but with lockdown, our operations have been limited or working from home. We feel lucky that we are safe so far but at the sametime, we feel helpless to see the misery of our fellow Nepalese many of whom are people we know. So, we have teamed up to raise funds with a target to help people from the remote villages in Sindhupalchowk and Baglung district.

We have hesitated to act on Covid response thus far. First, we are not a health-related agency and have little relevant experience working in the health sector. Second, doing anything in Covid time itself poses a risk to both ourselves and those we aim to serve. And, third, we know that the best thing to do is staying home and raising awareness about ways to stay safe.

At the moment, we are in a completely different situation where it has become a humanitarian crisis. People dying of not finding or being able to afford oxygen cylinders can be stopped. People not getting basic medication that works such as energy-boosting Vitamins can be supported. Vulnerable families with elderly and children who have lost all sources of income due to prolonged lockdown can be provided with basic food items and water. People who have been detected Covid positive can be better supported in the isolation either at home or in isolation centres.

Covid Situation in Nepal.

The most concerning and critical challenge we all are facing at this hour is Covid itself. Up until mid of April, the general attitude was Nepali people somehow had immune power to fight off the Covid. This was due to our lucky situation of not recording a high number of Covid cases and deaths. However, the scenario began to change dramatically after we were hit by the second wave of Covid very quickly and it spread pervasively. Although the country is now in lockdown (or under the terms of prohibitory order), the virus has spread deep into the community level leaving no single district even at the remotest locations uninfected.

Covid is an Emergency in Nepal.

In the last two weeks, the infection rate has spiralled from a few hundred a days to nearly ten thousand a day. Each day, more than 200 people are dying mostly due to not receiving proper medical attention and care. There is a widespread fear that these numbers could go up further over the coming weeks to completely overwhelm our health system and cost lives many times over. After India, Nepal has become the latest epicentre of Covid.

Now, all this is not a new story as worse has been recorded elsewhere. However, Nepal is a country with a very fragile health system with hospitals mostly concentrated mainly in Kathmandu and few large cities, the people in the village areas are exposed to a high degree of vulnerability. Almost all the big hospitals (both private and government) are making announcements that they can take no more patients and are already running out of beds, life-saving oxygen support and ventilators. Sadly under this grim situation, a few of our close friends have lost their family members in recent days.

Our Appeal

The government has called on all NGOs to reallocate some of its budgets to address Covid needs and also to support with whatever possible in the areas it works. Naturally, we are called too and feel responsible that we should respond. Therefore, we have made contact with a few rural municipalities like PaancPokhari to assess their situation. They are asking for any support to provide them with medical equipment and medications. The health clinics and isolation centres are in need of vital support such as PPE Equipment, Pulse Oximeter, Oxygen Cylinder or Concentrator, Disinfectants, Gloves, Masks and Sanitizers etc.

We are therefore making this appeal to enable us to provide vital life-saving support equipment like Oxygen Concentrator. Our initial target is to purchase six Oxygen Concentrator for hospitals, clinics and isolation located in Helambu, Paanchpokhari and Baglung Municipality.

How to donate?

Please donate here and help us to pass on this to your network. Let us all fight off Covid from Nepal and the rest of the world!

Thank you and stay safe

Jimmy Lama on behalf of HELP (Founder Director)

Dilli Ram Subedi (Chairman of Nepal Campaign for Education)

Silshila Acharya (CEO of the HImalayan Climate Initiatives)

Shailendra Jha (Founder BITS Ladder International Pvt. Ltd.)

Sushil Khadka and Hardik Subedi (Directors, Avni Centre for Sustainabilityt)

Saru Giri (Scholarship Programme leader at HELP).