Your Community Voice is a new occasional column in which Casey residents are invited to write about a topic of their choice. Last week the News spoke to Jo Hastings and her husband Rob about their experience during last month’s Nepal earthquake. This week Jo continues the story in her own words.
THE main purpose of our recent trip to Nepal was to visit a reading room in a remote hillside village that we had established with Room to Read and the supporters of Katrina Sparkle Fund.
Whist there we also planned to visit a number of other projects that we had heard about so it was with a sense of excitement and trepidation that we set out on 13 April for the planned two-week trip with little idea of what really lay ahead.
Even prior to the devastating earthquake that commenced on Anzac Day we had been profoundly moved by the immense needs of the Nepalese people and in particular two organisations that we had planned, in some way, to assist or at least become a voice for.
Little is known about the fact that 7000 to 10,000 girls are trafficked in Nepal each year.
SASANE is a small organisation making a big effort to impact outcomes for some of these girls.
Its focus is to provide legal training to rescued girls to empower them to make a difference in their own lives and others who find themselves in similar situations.
We are currently exploring opportunities to provide support for this amazing work however, sadly, at the present time SASANE’s focus is to assist with safe shelter and food for the 85 per cent of its girls that are now homeless.
Unfortunately it is at desperate times like this that traffickers will seek further prey from the remote village families on the promise of education for the victims and money to help the families provide for food and shelter for their remaining children.
The other organisation is a school run for 75 children from the slums of Kathmandu by The Moonlight Foundation, demonstrating the power of a simple local effort to provide a better and safer future for these children.
We were able to witness first-hand the passion and integrity of the people involved in the organization and their dreams of a better Nepal.
On the day of the quake we were on the third floor of the school where our son Simon was delivering the first of his Ksafekids first aid programs to the teachers.
The new school year was due to begin the next day but the school building is currently unsafe for them to return.
It is very hard to capture in a few words the fear, terror and utter devastation that we experienced as a result of the quake.
We are thankful to now all be home safe but very concerned for those left behind as the daily tremors continue and the monsoon season approaches.
We encourage readers to consider the urgent needs of the people of Nepal.
Katrina Sparkle Fund is looking to raise money to assist with getting the school doors open again as soon as possible and provide assistance to SASANE.
Simon will also be organising Ksafekids programs locally and on the Peninsula run by professionals, the proceeds of which will go directly to Moonlight Foundation.
Anyone interested in assisting Moonlight Foundation or SASANE can visit ksparkle.org.au or call Rob on 0400 044 257 or Simon on 0488 854 08.
