Be the Change

A mother tends to her daughter, injured in Nepal's recent 

earthquake, at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital

in Kathmandu.                                                unicef.org

Today, I am not going to write about cooking or recipes.  Today, I have something far more pressing than what is going on in my kitchen to talk about.  Today, I am going to write about Nepal and the desperate need for your help.

I want to urge everyone to seek out charities that provide aid internationally in instances of disaster and please make a small donation.  Even if it is only a dollar or two, it helps.  Everything helps.  No amount is too small.

The massive earthquake in Nepal was just the start of the Nepalese people's struggle.  There are areas where 90% of structures have been reduced to rubble. --Homes, gone.  --Businesses, gone.  --Hospitals, gone.  Healthcare there was not a fraction of what we are accustomed to in the US to begin with and since the earthquake, hospitals have been pushed far beyond their limits.  Many are so overloaded, they are being forced to drag mattresses into parking lots to treat the 50,000 - 60,000 patients needing urgent care.  And it is going to get worse without help.

Millions of people are now without basic necessities like food, shelter and clean drinking water.  Medical facilities are running out of supplies as they try to help those in need.  Vaccination programs have had to be set aside while aid workers turn their attention to emergency care.  Without clean water and vaccinations, the Nepalese people will face the possibility of  epidemic outbreaks of diseases like cholera and measles.

An elderly woman receiving medical treatment at the open site 

of a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April 26, 2015.            

 -- PHOTO: EPA                                    straitstimes.com

Please, please, please help if you can.  Right now is our time to help make the world a better place.  It is so easy to do something so small and help people who are lost, scared and suffering.  We have the power to help.

There are many trustworthy groups to which you can make a donation.  If you aren't sure where to donate, consider one of the groups listed below, all of which are endorsed by Charitynavigator.com.  If you aren't comfortable with making a donation online, please check with your local churches or American Red Cross office.


AmeriCares:  http://www.americares.org/

CARE:  http://www.care.org/

Catholic Relief Services:  http://www.crs.org/

Direct Relief:  http://www.directrelief.org/

Global Giving:  http://www.globalgiving.org/

Oxfam:  http://www.oxfamamerica.org

Save the Children:  http://www.savethechildren.org/

Unicef:  http://www.unicef.org/