Nepal Earthquake has a close Oliver connection.

The 7.8 Richter earthquake and aftershocks that have devastated parts of rural Nepal since last Saturday has also affected an area with close ties to a group in Oliver. World Neighbours Canada Society (WNC), based in Oliver, has been working in the district of Ramechhap, about 120 miles east of Kathmandu, since 1989. Working with a Nepalese partner (TSS), WNC has raised funds over the years to enable villagers to install 133 gravity fed water systems and over 20,000 hygienic, sealed toilets.

The villages that TSS works with are all very poor and the vast majority of people live in mud brick houses with slate roofs. The walls of the houses don’t have re-bar or any reinforcement at all, and the houses are often 2 stories tall. The slate roofs are great for rain and wind, but they are very heavy, and as soon as the walls weaken, the roofs become a danger. This is exactly what happened during the earthquake in over 80% of the houses in Ramechhap. The tremors weakened the walls, and the weight of the roof caused part or all of the structure to collapse.

The gravity fed water systems that WNC funded all have holding tanks, collecting tanks and reservoirs built of cement and reinforced with rebar, so none of them has so far been reported damaged at all. And luckily, only 9 people in Ramechhap were killed.

WNC is coordinating an emergency collection of money that will be used by TSS to help earthquake victims in the Ramechhap area. Because the death toll was low, and because it is quite far from the capital, the area will probably not get much emergency relief. If you would like to help out, you can donate via the WNC website at www.worldneighbours.ca. All funds donated will be matched by the federal government, thus doubling the value of your donation.