FREDERICKSBURG-KATHMANDU SISTER CITY
Promoting Cultural and Interpersonal Connections Between Our Regions
THE WASH PROGRAM
A City At Risk and A Village on the Brink
From our partners at Engage Nepal:
Nepal is struggling. We know that. The earthquakes were bad enough. But then came the pandemic. The first wave. Delta. Omicron. And now another wave threatens. People have died. The tourism industry is devastated. Countless jobs have been lost. Families are struggling and living on the edge of disaster. Our resources are depleted but still we strive to meet the needs. Day by day. A step at a time.
Today, I’m asking for your help with two efforts that are particularly urgent. They aren’t huge projects, but they matter tremendously to those whose lives we touch. And, because we have strong partners for both of them, we are confident that we can make the difference. But, as is always true, we need donors like you to do so.
The first partnership builds on a sister city relationship between teams in Kathmandu and their counterparts in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They know that right now, as the pandemic still threatens, nothing is more important, more critical, than encouraging folks to take whatever measures they can to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.
And the Sister City partnership between the folks in Kathmandu and their counterparts in Fredericksburg, Virginia are make every effort to protect those who are at risk. We know that people want to what is best for their families. They want to protect their loved ones and their friends and their neighbors. And we can help them by providing basic, and urgently needed, education and communication.
One of the keys to fighting this disease is simple, basic, and incredibly important:
WASH. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
The KFSC partnership will train 200 partners on the ground in Kathmandu and they will become our champions in helping to spread the word, helping to educate families and communities, and helping to keep people healthy and safe.
Kathmandu, has a million plus people but make no mistake. Those 200 partners can make a difference. We can make a difference. Please help us to stem the COVID tide. Donate today so that we can immediately launch Kathmandu- Fredericksburg Sister City WASH program, that is so urgently needed.
Meanwhile, in the nation’s far west, in Bajura district there is a village. Not a million plus people. Just a few hundred families in Rudhi Village. A few hundred desperate families. In Nepal’s far west, in Bajura district there is a village. Not a million plus people. Just a few hundred families in Rudhi Village. A few hundred desperate families.
Landslides have cut off their water supply. The village is in desperate straits. Hunger is rampant. And people suffer. They seem to have been forgotten by provincial government leaders. Perhaps they are too small. Too far away. Too lacking in influential voices drawing attention to their need. Their cries for help aren’t being heard. But we hear them.
Can we help? We can. And we will.
The need is urgent. Just watch the video above. You don’t have to understand Nepali to feel the pain and to know the suffering.
