Crisis In Nepal: A Q&A With charity:water About The Situation On The Ground, And How You Can Help
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday, leaving thousands dead and many more without shelter or access to clean water. Join us on Thursday, April 30 at 4 p.m. ET for a live Q&A about the recovery efforts now underway with charity:water's Scott Harrison, founder and CEO, and Christoph Gorder, chief global water officer, who's leading the nonprofit's disaster response team.
The toll in Nepal continues to rise since the country's worst earthquake in 80 years struck on Saturday: more than 5,000 dead, tens of thousands homeless, and an estimated 1.4 million in desperate need of food.
Through two local partners, Splash and Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH), New York-based nonprofit charity:water has been working in Nepal for five years. Dozens of charity:water-funded project sites were damaged in the 7.8 magnitude quake, and the organization is now helping to marshal emergency funds in order to provide communities with water, shelter, medical care, and more.
Fast Company's Ainsley O'Connell will be talking to two of charity:water's leaders, CEO and founder Scott Harrison and chief global water officer Christoph Gorder, in order to better understand the needs and challenges facing this mountainous nation of 8 million. Please join us as we debrief on the crisis and learn how to help. The event will begin at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 29. You can get your questions in now using the "make a comment" box below.
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Thank you for joining us! I'm here today with charity:water's Scott Harrison, founder and CEO, and Christoph Gorder, chief global water officer. To kick things off, maybe you could tell us a bit about how you first got involved with partners in Nepal?
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charity: water began working in Nepal in 2010, first in the rural areas through our local partners Newah (Nepal Water for Health), and then shortly afterwards at schools in Kathmandu through local partner Splash... Over the last 5 years, we've invested $4.9M to fund 844 water projects that will serve 172,202 people.
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Astounding video of the moment the devastating quake began to shatter #Nepal. mashable.com/2015/04/30/nep… via @mashable youtube.com/watch?v=1kmMOH…by Jim Roberts via twitter 4/30/2015 8:04:04 PM -
The solutions in the rural areas are spring protections - where we cap mountain springs, run them through sand filters, and use gravity to bring clean drinking water to the villages. In Kathmandu, it's a high-tech filtration system that uses UV / Carbon and UF Filtration.
Nepal
Learn more about charity: water's work in Nepal, and how our projects are bringing clean drinking water to developing countries. -
Why did you decide to pledge to support the recovery efforts?
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Nepal needs all the help we can possibly provide. We reached out to our colleagues in Kathmandu right away. We decided to support the recovery efforts because of our commitment to the country, and our network of strong local partners active there. We also wanted to give our community of supporters a way to donate where 100% would go directly to reach the people in need.
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@scottharrison how many water projects does @charitywater have specifically in Nepal?
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We've funded 844 projects, most of which are in the quake zone. Here's a map of our projects overlaid on the impact area.
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In Kathmandu alone, we've funded water projects at 74 schools that serve 54,000 kids. And when the quake struck we had clean water projects underway in an additional 55 schools in Kathmandu.
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How much do you know about the status of those sites and communities? Do they have clean water?
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We’re still working on the damage assessment. The first step was to make sure that our partners were safe and it took a couple days to account for the more than 200 local staff in Nepal. We were so relieved to hear that they were all accounted for. Now, the technical teams are fanning out across the earthquake zone and checking on the status. We’ll have more precise information in the coming days.
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How do you plan to use the money that has been raised so far in Nepal. What is your strategy?
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100% of the funds we raise for Nepal will go to work in Nepal. Our supporters have been amazing and we’ve raised $532,198 since Saturday, through 5,892 donors with an average donation size of $90. In the immediate phase--meaning for the next 90 days--we will prioritize the funding for emergency water & sanitation & basic needs. That means water trucking, purification tablets, buckets, hygiene kits…. After 90 days, we’ll begin the rebuilding of damaged water systems. It’s going to be a long process. But we’re in it with the Nepali people for the long haul.
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@FastCompany @charitywater Best way to help? Which charities have the most $ going to relief and not admin etc?by SongCroft Naturals via twitter 4/30/2015 8:18:12 PM -
Here's some more information about what to expect over the next few months:
charity: water blog
charity: water blogcharity: water is a non-profit bringing clean and safe drinking water to developing nations. This is our blog. -
In addition to donating, here's one way you can help Nepal right now: By helping make a map for aid workers. For more details, head over to FastCo.Exist, where Adele Peters has a story about the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).
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Hi Songcroftnaturals ...
There are a lot of great organizations out there doing great work.
Charity Navigator has published a guide here, and if you click through to each organization, you’ll get a sense of their approach
www.charitynavigator.org -
How important is clean water in a disaster? And how do you prioritize the many other urgent needs--shelter, food, medical assistance?
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After a disaster of this magnitude, the three biggest priorities for the survivors are: clean water, food and shelter. There is a lot of concern for the health of the survivors, and clean water is one of the most important priorities. The fear is that diseases from dirty water, like cholera or typhoid, could spread rampantly because the living conditions are so unsanitary. -
Scott, what are the biggest logistical challenges for you and other foreign aid organizations now? Transportation/communication/etc... which is top of mind for you? thanks.
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Many roads are cut off by landslides and debris. The communications systems are down. The airport in Kathmandu is very small and it took several days to get back up and running. There are hundreds of cargo planes coming and the logistical challenges are huge.
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So, that really affects the outlying communities. Nepal has very rugged terrain and there are still villages out there that remain cut off.
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Alex - Yes... What Christoph said... Even in a developed country like the US or Japan, a disaster this big overwhelms the system’s ability to respond. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and their government was weak to begin with. For example, the Nepalese military has only one large helicopter to ferry victims and supplies to those in need.
On the ground, first responders like policemen and firemen have become victims themselves; they’ve been injured, lost loved ones, or lost their homes. Everyone in the affected area is suffering.
The country’s infrastructure has been torn apart. Roads are impassable because of landslides and debris, the electrical grid is knocked out, and communications systems are very damaged. In many places, there’s no running water. It took several days just to get the airport up and running, so planes carrying aid could land. -
Besides donating, what else do you suggest? We have been avid supporters of charity:water...I wish there was more we can do.
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If you're a person of faith, please keep the people of Nepal in your prayers. And after the news fades from the headlines and CNN ticker, remember that the people will continue to suffer and that efforts to rebuild will take a long time. Check in with the situation, learn more about the recovery and rehabilitation efforts, and help keep the issue top of mind. We have no intention of leaving Nepal, and will keep our supporters informed of the situation through many years to come.
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As relief gets underway, will there be opportunities to rebuild in smarter ways, introducing technology or making investments that will do more than simply get things back to normal?
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After a tragedy like this, we need to build back better. This will take years, probably. (Just think about the process that’s still underway in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.) In Nepal, there will be the opportunity to build safer homes and better infrastructure. We will be investing heavily in getting clean water to rural communities and in the city… to schools.
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Kathmandu's water supply is poor, and at the schools we fund through our local partner Splash, our goal is to provide 100% clean and safe water to all students. The average school in Kathmandu has 720 students, and as you can imagine, clean water is key to the health of the students, and even has impacts on their academic achievement. It’s a huge investment in the future of the country - making sure Nepal’s students grow up healthy. -
This is an actual PREVIOUS water source at a school we worked at on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
