Deliver Aid to Earthquake Survivors in Nepal

“In my ninth month of pregnancy, weeks since the earthquakes, today is the first day I am sleeping quietly without fear or stress.”

These are the words of one of the expectant mothers who received lifesaving care, thanks to the support of MADRE members like you.

Due to the immense trauma experienced by survivors of natural disasters, pregnant women in Nepal are at high risk of complications or premature delivery. What’s more, overwhelmed hospitals have discharged mothers directly after birth, leaving them with nowhere to go since their homes have been destroyed.

Our on-the-ground partners – grassroots activists at the women’s group WOREC – are responding to the urgent needs of new and expectant mothers. They have created counseling and support centers where women and children receive vital supplies like food, feminine hygiene supplies, blankets, clean clothing and more.

In 8 of the 10 most affected districts, WOREC and another local group LOOM have mobilized to provide 10,000 relief packets for pregnant women and lactating mothers. The packets include baby clothes and blankets, diapers, soap, sanitary pads, food and clean under garments.

With your help, our partners are lifelines for those most vulnerable in times of disaster – thank you!

Thanks to MADRE member support, we continue to respond to the devastating earthquakes that have rocked Nepal.

Two of our on-the-ground Indigenous partners are The Himalayan Grassroots Women’s Natural Resource Management Association (HIMAWANTI) and the National Indigenous Women's Forum (NIWF).

Together, we're delivering lifesaving aid to remote Indigenous communities off the radar of the large relief efforts. Without our grassroots partners, many of these communities would have no other sources of humanitarian relief. And now, these already weakened communities are at high risk of even more devastation as the monsoon season fast approaches.

MADRE has been in constant contact with our local partners, receiving first-hand updates of the needs on the ground. We just received a report from HIMAWANTI on their progress. They have delivered tents, blankets, soaps, water purifiers and first aid kits. They made sure that the most vulnerable people – like pregnant women, new mothers and disabled persons – receive these vital supplies.

And NIWF told us that MADRE support has brought tents, mattresses, food, clean water purifiers, feminine hygiene supplies and health kits to Indigenous families in the hardest hit areas of Nepal.

Here are two photos from NIWF’s aid distribution. Thank you for the lifesaving work you are making possible for Indigenous women and families in Nepal!

Links:

• http://www.niwfnepal.org.np/