On Saturday, Nepal was hit by an earthquake that measured 7.9 on the Richter scale – an earthquake so massive that its aftershocks were felt in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. At the time of writing this, the death toll stands at 3,600 and is rising by the second, as more and more people are found under the rubble and destruction that the earthquake has left behind. Hundreds of people are still stranded, and many are missing. Our sincerest wishes and prayers for those who lost their lives, and for those who survived but are facing utter devastation. But we can also help out in actual, tangible ways. Here’s how.
1. Log on to InCrisisRelief
The InCrisisRelief website (previously JKFloodRelief), is a constantly updated resource which has everything you need to know about Nepal Quake Relief right now. It is a one stop resource for everything you want to know about what kind of help (monetary or otherwise) the region needs now.
2. Donate to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund
Funds that are donated to The Prime Minister’s Relief Fund will go directly towards earthquake relief efforts. Once you fill up the form with the amount and your PAN card, you will get your receipt. All contributions made towards PMNRF are exempted entirely from taxation.
3. Donate through PayTM
If you have an account with PayTM, you can donate through their site as well. PayTM matches your donation, rupee for rupee, and your donation can vary from Rs.10 to Rs.10,000.
4. Donate through Care India
Care India is partnering with Care Nepal to provide basic survival kits (blankets, mats, hygiene amenities etc) for the victims of the earthquake. You can contribute either for one or more families, or any amount that you want to.
5. Donate through Goonj
GOONJ is an NGO that has been doing relief work for many years now. On their website, they have a list of materials that are required urgently, as well as an option to donate cash. They also have a list of local offices where you can drop in your contribution.
6. If you are a doctor who wants to help
You can sign up with MSF and they will fly you out to Kathmandu where you can help with disaster victims.
7. Donate through Facebook
Starting today, you should be able to see a message at the top of your News Feed, offering you the option to donate to the International Medical Corps, which is carrying out relief work and providing medical care on the ground. What’s great about showing your support through this method is that Facebook has promised to match the donations raised through this feature up to $2 million. So every rupee you donate will result in an equivalent donation from Facebook too.
Every time a natural disaster strikes, it is a reminder to humanity that unless we put forward a united front, we’re not going to survive. You might think you’re not doing much with a simple donation, but remember, EVERY rupee counts!
POPxo is donating one day’s salary for every one of our employees for the relief efforts. (We’re using option 7.) And we urge you to contribute too.
Featured image: “Nepal Earthquake 2015 01” by Krish Dulal – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
