It was awful to see the news of the Nepal Earthquake and the devastation it has caused throughout a huge area. For us it was very near to our hearts. My daughter and I had been planning a trip to Nepal, as part of our Tibetan Dawn restocking trip, in India this April. We had wanted to meet up with Yangdon’s grandparents and family in Kathmandu, which would have been just about the time of the earthquake. However, due to Yangdon’s grandmother being unwell during March, we decided not to attempt Nepal this year, as we were not sure Keepa would be able to manage the journey from India. Luckily, we have heard that the rest of the family in Katmandu have survived the destruction.

Photograph: Niranjan Shrestha/AP

The number of people that have been killed and displaced in Nepal is phenomenal. It’s just another reminder to us of a not to distant past when Ladakh had a massive mud slip, after torrential rain, with my daughter Yangdon loosing her 14-year-old cousin in the disaster

Desperately wanting to help, it took a while on the internet to find out which organisations are already working within the disaster areas. It was important for me to find organisations that are already established and working in Nepal. Eventually, I gave a personal donation to the Red Cross via PayPal. The Red Cross being one of the 14 organisations that are part of the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC). DEC is an umbrella organisation which launches and coordinates responses to major disasters overseas.

http://www.dec.org.uk/how-to-help/how-to-pay

The 14 DEC organisations are Action Aid, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD (Catholic Aid Agency), CARE, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, PLAN (children’s Charity), Save the Children, Tear Fund (Christian Charity for Poverty) and World Vision.

N.B. If you wish your money to go to the Nepal Earthquake Disaster, then make sure you choose a drop down box or state in a message box that your donation is specific to this appeal.