Share the Love: Standing with Nepal for the long road ahead
How our interfaith coalition is keeping families warm this winter and funding multi-year rebuilding.
"Our commitment to you will not end!"
— Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo
Most of us know the shape of a disaster story. Something terrible happens, help rushes in, and then, a few weeks later, life slowly returns to normal.
For thousands of families in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, that won't happen. On August 26, a wall of ice and rock broke away from a mountain near the Nepal–China border.
The flood that followed tore through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli valleys, destroying towns, roads, and the ground homes were built on. As of September 30, more than 1,450 people had died and more than 4,718 are still missing.
What makes this flood different is what's still above those valleys. It didn't come from a storm. It came from a mountain made unstable by warming, and the same river system flooded last year too. Nepal's army is redrawing the map, and no one will be resettled near the river. Ground they have farmed for generations may be lost for good.
As one of our volunteers described it: it's less like treating an injury and more like caring for someone with a chronic illness. The emergency will fade from the news. The need won't.
One afternoon in Germantown
On September 19, between 250 and 300 people filled the Nepal Education and Cultural Center in Germantown for Pray for Nepal. KPC Buddhist Relief co-hosted the gathering with NECC and the Tamang Society of Greater Washington.
Some people drove in from Pennsylvania and Richmond. Many came to see Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, whose Walk for Peace moved so many people earlier this year. Khenpo Tenzin Yeshi, resident teacher at KPC's Poolesville temple, joined him with other monks and lamas.
The afternoon included a walk, chanting, a Dharma talk, and a long question-and-answer session.
Bhupinder Kaur, United Sikhs’ Director of Operations, who happened to be visiting the area, joined us to represent their organization. She was deeply moved that we featured their work in Nepal and gave people a way to donate on the spot . That afternoon we announced that we are working together again.
Two partners who stay
Shenpen Nepal was founded in 2004 by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche within the community of Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery in Kathmandu. By September 1 they were in Nuwakot, bringing rice, lentils, cooking oil, clothing, tents and sleeping bags to more than 300 people sheltering in a school in Trishuli Bazaar. We are developing our partnership with Shenpen to help fund their ongoing relief as they push further into newly accessible mountain villages. See their relief work →
United Sikhs worked with us in 2022 to aid Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and their teams arrived in Nepal within days of the flood. They initially established a daily kitchen serving 2,000 hot meals in Nuwakot and helped the Nepal Army clear buried homes.Where bridges washed away, volunteers rigged temporary river-crossing systems, hauling ropes hand-over-hand across the water to move displaced families and emergency cargo.
▶ Watch the river-crossing operation on Instagram →
United Sikhs is also launching Project Braveheart, a train-the-trainer trauma-response program equipping local first responders for future emergencies.
They work under an official agreement with local municipalities, which keep a database of needs so help goes where it's verified. They buy supplies in Nepal, as the government asked, which keeps money in the local economy and stretches every dollar. Their co-founder, Hardayal Singh, will visit KPC in the coming weeks. We're already talking about partnering to provide hot meals for families in Prince George's County too.
What families need now
Families are sheltering in temporary camps and community centers as winter comes on. United Sikhs has already handed out slippers, bags, and solar lamps. The urgent need now is warmth: blankets, jackets, socks, heaters, hot water bottles, and mattresses. Next come roofing sheets for the temporary shelters families are building on new plots, away from the river.
Why we're in it for the long haul
Jetsunma named this campaign Share the Love, and she has asked us to think big. A Buddhist temple, a Sikh humanitarian organization, and a Nepali monastery are joining together for families in two Himalayan valleys. Our founder would call that interdependence. We're all connected, and so is the help we give.
We're asking you to join us for the long road, not just for this month.
Can't give right now? Share this email, or follow Shenpen Nepal and United Sikhs to see where the help goes.
