A mother tends to her injured daughter in Kathmandu, which was among the areas devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25. Photo: UNICEF
The Anglican Church of Canada’s relief and development arm, Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has released $20,000 to help relief efforts of its partners in Nepal, after a massive earthquake on April 25 killed more than 3,800 people and injured more than 6,500 others. Dozens of people have also been killed in neighbouring India and China, according to media reports.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which affected the region between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara, also left more than 100,000 people homeless and destroyed towns and villages.
It also severely damaged several Hindu temples and at least four of seven Unesco World Heritage sites, reported CNN.
At least 30 of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected by the earthquake, and the Nepalese government has told media that its hospitals are operating beyond capacity.
PWRDF announced it was responding through its partner, ACT Alliance, a global organization of church-based agencies working in emergencies worldwide. “ACT members with offices in Kathmandu began providing immediate relief-food, water, shelter and medical supplies-within hours of the quake, and are currently determining what the greatest needs are as they co-ordinate their response,” said PWRDF in a press statement.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), an ACT Alliance member, has launched “a large-scale emergency response,” in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lamjung and Pokhara, where it has been operating for years, said a press statement. The LWF said it was working together with the Nepalese government, the UN and church partners in the ACT Alliance network to co-ordinate its response.
“We are deeply concerned at the scale of this disaster,” said LWF General Secretary Martin Junge. “We are grateful for the leadership of the LWF emergency team on the ground who are standing with people and communities affected and giving expression to the diaconal vocation of the LWF communion.”
The Canadian government has announced that all donations received by registered charities, including PWRDF, for relief efforts in Nepal will be matched, dollar for dollar, into Canada’s Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund.
PWRDF said Canadian-Anglicans wishing to support its relief efforts in Nepal can do so:
Online
You can designate your online donationfor “Nepal Earthquake.”
By Phone
For credit card donations, contact:
Ricky de Castro
416-924-9192 ext. 318; 1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF,” mark them for “Nepal Earthquake” and send them to:
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden St.
Toronto, ON M4Y 3G2