Give with an Open Heart to ACHA Rebuilding and Resiliency Fund Online https://www.crowdrise.com/acharebuildingresiliencefund/
OR
Make your checks payable to “MACHIK” and please put “ACHA Nepal Rebuilding and Resilience Fund” in the memo – very important. If you are on the East Coast, please mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Tsechu Dolma) 42-24-64street,Woodside, NY 11377 . OR If you are on the West Coast, you can mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Dechen Tsering) 1728 10th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
Raised so far (May 21, 2015): $33,342[*]
The entirety of funds raised so far has already been distributed or pledged to local partners.
Rebuilding and Resilience Fund for Nepal goal: $100,000
Breakdown of the Fund Raised so far’s Allocation to Local Partners
|
Local Partner |
Funds Distributed (as of May 21, 2015) | Remaining Fund Pledged(distributed before 6/2015) |
| Bakhang, Sindhupalchowk | $3,740 | |
| Discretionary Fund[†] | $902 | |
| Educate the Children, Dolakha district | $2,000 | |
| Migrant Carpet Weavers | $6,480 | $13,520 |
| Himalayan Society for Youth and Women Empowerment | $3,000 | |
| Laduk, Dolakha | $200 | |
| Sahayeta | $3,000 | |
| Women Rehabilitation Center | $500 | |
| Total | $10,920 | $22,422 |
- Direct Relief Funds: $10,420 (distributed as of May 21, 2015)
Tsechu Dolma, ACHA-NY Coordinator flew to Nepal 4 days after the first 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015 with relief supplies. Once in Kathmandu, she partnered with a local club of volunteers to organize a team made up of a foreign general physician, a Rinpoche (lama), a nun and two volunteers. The team reached 306 families and 260 individuals and distributed (as of May 19, 2015) a total of $10,420 in direct relief support as detailed below:
Bakhang, Sindhupalchowk district
- Impact: 225 nuns + 6 monks + 30 monks + 150 villagers
- ACHA assessed the nunnery’s most immediate need, which was money to pay construction workers
- Offered $2,240, which will directly help pay for 3,500 hours of labor
- Offered $1,500 to Sengedak Service Society, which directly provides aid materials to Bakhang nunnery
- Donated 330 pounds of medical and relief supplies, reaching 150 households and 260 monastics
- Led 150 hours of Acute Stress Disorder and medical counseling for 305 women
Laduk Village, Dolakha district
Impact: 4 households
Offered $50 each to 4 worst hit families in the village; total $200; assessed by the village council and ACHA
Migrant Carpet Weavers: Stark Fund
Impact: 115 weaver families (Kamal Rug Suppliers), hailing from Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha district.
| Impact | Allocated | Fund offered | |
| Total Death of Weavers | 1 | Rs 10,000 | Rs 10,000 |
| Total Death in Weaver Immediate Family | 6 | Rs 5,000 | Rs 30,000 |
| Total Injured | 9 | Rs 5,000 | Rs 45,000 |
| Total Homes Damaged | 99 | Rs 4,000 | Rs 396,000 |
| Total Affected | 115 | Rs 481,000 + 19,000 |
Total distributed to 115 weaver households, $5,000
Impact: 37 weaver families (Inter Carpet Suppliers), badly damaged homes in Sindhupalchowk, Dhading, and Nuwakot districts. Offered Rs 4,000 per weaver family. 37 X 4,000 = Rs 148,000 ($1,480)
Women Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) – www.worec.org
Dr. Renu Adhikari, founder/executive director of Women Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) in Kathmandu. Dr. Adhikari was in the Bay Area on April 25, 2015 when the first earthquake took place in Nepal. Just before Dr. Adhikari flew back to Nepal, ACHA hosted a gathering. In times of civil unrest, wars, and disasters, it is a known fact that women and girls become more vulnerable in society. Dr. Adhikari presented updates from Nepal stressing the ways in which communities were impacted and women were mobilizing to begin relief work. Efforts to ensure gender-sensitive relief work with special focus on safety and needs of women survivors – particularly women in the WOREC shelters who come from traumatic experiences of violence and trafficking, pregnant women and single women – were a priority while providing direct relief to families in villages.
ACHA donated $500 to Dr. Adhikari for WOREC’s relief efforts.
ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood members all hail from Nepal and the broader Himalayas. Our funds reaching Nepal is carefully planned for the long-term. While the immediate goal is to provide direct relief efforts for the most vulnerable population, the end goal is building grassroots resilience. We are in it for the long run. We will continue raising funds and supporting our local partners. You can support our work:
- Donate online crowdrise.com/acharebuildingresiliencefund OR
- Make your checks payable to “MACHIK” and please put “ACHA Nepal Rebuilding and Resilience Fund” in the memo – very important. If you are on the East Coast, please mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Tsechu Dolma) 42-24-64street,Woodside, NY 11377 . OR If you are on the West Coast, you can mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Dechen Tsering) 1728 10th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
Supporting Trusted Partners:
- Migrant Carpet Weavers
We are dedicated to supporting migrant wageworkers, as a key step to rebuilding Nepal’s commerce sector. An overwhelming majority of the migrant carpet weavers in Kathmandu hail from rural hill and mountain communities most affected by the earthquake. Their source of livelihood has been interrupted. We have partnered with Stark Carpets in New York to provide support to 5,000 carpet weaver families in Nepal.
We pledge $20,000 to rebuild migrant families lives:
Rs 10,000 (100 USD) to each family with a loss of a weaver
Rs 5,000 (50 USD) to each weavers with loss in immediate family
Rs 5,000 (50 USD) to each weavers with injuries in immediate family
Rs 4,000 (40 USD) to each weavers with severely damaged homes
Our contribution will directly support weaver families with temporary shelter, medicine, education and food.
1 tarpaulin (16 ft X 20 ft) = Rs 1,300 (13USD)
30 kilograms of rice[‡] = Rs 1600 (16 USD)
1 kilograms of lentils = Rs 50 (0.5 USD)
1 liter of cooking oil = Rs 90 (0.9 USD)
1 month of primary government school tuition = Rs 500~1000 (5 USD ~10USD)
1 month of non-governmental public school tuition = Rs 1500~2000 (15USD~20USD)
- Educate the Children http://www.etc-nepal.org
Through literacy training and organizational development ETC helps women gain the skills needed to become strong leaders in their communities. ETC provides scholarships, teacher training, building materials and more to improve the quality of education in public schools. They have been in Nepal for more than two decades and they have been in Dolakha since 2008.
ACHA has pledged $2,000 to support ETC education initiatives in Dolakha district.
- Himalayan Society for Youth and Women Empowerment (HSYWE) – www.hsywe.org
HSYWE has over ten years of track record working with youth and women from the Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan ethnic communities in Nepal. In the wake of the earthquake, HSYWE team led by its executive director, Doma Lama, began direct relief trips to villages within the Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa Shabru (Tibetan refugee camps), and Dolakha districts. HSYWE’s all-women team of organizers mobilized local male volunteers in the villages to help distribute relief supplies that included: tarpaulin shelters, foam mattresses, women’s emergency kits, bags of rice, lentils, cooking oil, other dry food items, flashlights, etc. for the villagers. HSYWE serves communities of Tamang, Tibetan, Magar, Sherpa, Chhetri and other ethnic groups across Nepal.
ACHA has pledged $3,000 to HSYWE and will continue to raise funds to channel through this group to reach the ethnic minorities and Nepali villages in some of the hard-hit districts.
- Sahayeta.org
Sahayeta.org is a registered 501c3 organization created by individuals who share similar stories of hardship and struggle in America, having arrived as international students, refugees and new immigrants from the Himalayan region. Sahayeta.org’s mission in the Himalayan region is to further education, health, children’s’ right, elderly rights and women empowerment.
#1 On-the-ground needs assessment to evaluate effective approaches to help with recovery efforts.
#2 Urgent relief efforts: Sahayeta.org is partnering with individuals and organizations in the Bay Area, Nepal and India to send food, clean water, tents, medicine etc. to make an immediate impact.
#3 Public health and safety: coming monsoons will have a profound effect – Sahayeta.org will be partnering with public health organizations and local hospitals to support the mitigation of infectious diseases and public safety issues. This could be through
- Providing safe water drinking
- Medical equipment and
- Raising awareness and providing education
#4 Long term rebuilding efforts:
- Rebuilding Schools
- Offering scholarships for students facing hardship
- Rehabilitation help through access to physical therapy
- Creating economic opportunities for marginalized communities who have lost their sources of livelihoods
$3,000 pledged funds to Sahayeta.org and HSYWE will be taken by ACHA members traveling to Nepal (at personal cost) to ensure that 100% of the funds raised will be distributed to the groups in person.
We look forward to raising additional $70,000 to supporting Phase 2 (rebuilding and resiliency) in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned for updates and thank you for your support. We will continue fundraising.
You can support our work:
- Donate online crowdrise.com/acharebuildingresiliencefund OR
- Make your checks payable to “MACHIK” and please put “ACHA Nepal Rebuilding and Resilience Fund” in the memo – very important! If you are on the East Coast, please mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Tsechu Dolma) 42-24-64street,Woodside, NY 11377. OR If you are on the West Coast, you can mail them to: ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood (c/o Dechen Tsering) 1728 10th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710.
In Solidarity with the Strong People of Nepal,
ACHA is a 100% volunteer run organization dedicated to empowering Himalayan lives
Thank You to all our Donors!
| Alka Singh Family |
| Amit Dixit |
| Ann DiFruscia |
| Annabella Pitkin |
| Ashok Devata |
| Ayesha Rasool |
| Benjamin Bustamente |
| Ben Orlove Family |
| Bino Mathew |
| Carmen Baroudi |
| Carole Harbard |
| Cassidy Leventhal |
| Chhyumi Gurung |
| Choetso (Sonam Gurung and Sonam Dolma) |
| Chooileng Ooi |
| Columbia University School of Social Work |
| David Mellins |
| Dechen Wangmo |
| Dechhin Dojree Lama |
| Deepti Illa |
| Dehui Kong |
| Denise Cermanski |
| Dikyi (Twins Mother) |
| Dhonam Pemba |
| Dorji Dolma Tamang |
| Dorothee Pierrar-Falchier |
| Edward Tan Family |
| Ethan Nguyen |
| Gurpreet Kapoor |
| Hannah Immerman |
| Harsit Gurung |
| Hennic Chen |
| Irvin K Honickman |
| Jane Stein |
| Janel Chang |
| Jeanette Eaton |
| Jialang Yang |
| Jill S Syme, PhD |
| Jim Forbes |
| Julia Zinsmeister |
| Julie Super |
| Karan Devnani |
| Karchoe (Sonam Gurung and Sonam Dolma) |
| Karma Drukya |
| Kesang Choedhen Gurung |
| Kiat Sing-Teo |
| Kunga Tsomo |
| Lydia Ruiz |
| Mariana Cardoso |
| Maya Mohan |
| Michael Buckley |
| Michelle Lam |
| Michelle McMacken |
| Mingma Sherpa |
| Molly Pelavin |
| Mount Sinai Emergency Department |
| Namgyal Jorden |
| Navpreet Mann |
| Ngawang Tendar |
| Passang Dolma |
| Peter Werth |
| Pooja Shah |
| Quiyun Tan |
| Rabab Ayoub |
| Rachel Honickman |
| Rajani Pradhan |
| Sangeeta Yadav |
| Sheela Shankar |
| Sonam Choedhen |
| Stacey Neumann |
| Stark Carpets |
| Stark Chicago Rug Sale |
| Stark Online Donation |
| Stephanie Pierrard |
| Sungrab (Sonam Gurung and Sonam Dolma) |
| Sujata Bajracharya |
| Sussanah Wellford |
| Suyin and Karma (Singapore) |
| Tamding Wangmo Sherpa |
| Tashi Choden |
| Tashi T Lama |
| Tata Liam |
| Tenzing T Lama Family |
| Tenying Yangsel |
| Tenzin Bhuti Bhutia |
| Tenzin Namgyal (Big Ballay) |
| Tenzin Dhala |
| Tenzin Dolkar |
| Tenzin Kunsang |
| Tenzin Lhamo |
| Tenzin Lhamo |
| Tenzin Lhundup |
| Tenzin Lhundup Fundraiser Picnic |
| Tenzin Pelkyi |
| Tenzin Tsering |
| Tenzin Tsering |
| Tenzin Tsomo |
| Tenzin Yangdom |
| Thomas Victory |
| Tsechu Dolma |
| Tsering Lama (NYU Lutheran) |
| Tsering Wangmo |
| Tsering Yangchen |
| Tsewang Yangzom |
| Willis Langhorne |
| Yalan Wu |
| Yangchen Gurung |
| Yangdon Tenzin ( NYU Lutheran) |
| Yilman Steven |
| Yumi Kasai |
[*] Every dollar ACHA Rebuilding and Resilience Fund raises, goes 100% to direct relief and rebuilding support in Nepal. ACHA is a 100% volunteer run organization, we do not have any administrative expenses. Each ACHA member pays for her own travel and lodging expenses.
[†] This fund was set up for small grassroots organizations that we may encounter in Nepal. These organizations are usually very small without much international support or attention; nonetheless, they are impactful. Once we partner with grassroots organizations, we will update.
[‡] An average Nepali household, of 5 people, consumes 2.5 kilos of rice a day.
ACHA Himalayan Sisterhood 