Photo Courtesy of DZI Foundation
When a series of earthquakes leveled Nepal this spring, it was not just our climber friends on Everest who were affected. It was our friends all over Nepal and back here that we are still worried about. The Nepalese and Sherpa communities are strong, active and loving in Colorado and many of our Nepalese friends and their families were left homeless, their lives rubble. The Sherpa people are not some porters in a distant land, they are people who are a part of our lives here, who love the mountains with us. They are our family, and they still need our help.
So it’s no surprise that the Colorado (and the larger outdoor community) relief effort has been so strong. Mountaineer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, an ambassador for Sherpa Adventure Gear and part of the family that runs Tibet’s Restaurant in Louisville, was immediately out in remote towns, bringing in supplies and sorting through the wreckage. Tibet’s hosted a fundraiser for Planet Med Nepal. Boulder’s Malcolm and Karen Daly, Tim Harrington and Matt Murray began working with mountaineer Jake Norton and the Embolden Alliance to collect supplies, especially tents and tarps for those left homeless. Murray, a United pilot, flew them over. Pemba Sherpa, a climbing guide and owner of Sherpa’s Restaurant in Boulder, determined to raise $200,000 to rebuild 200 homes in Dudh Khosi valley near his hometown of Sengma. The dZi Foundation, a Colorado-and-Kathmandu-based non profit, founded by mountaineers Jim Nowak and Kim Reynolds that has worked for 20 years in remote parts of Nepal to build infrastructure, was immediately on the ground and is continuing to rebuild (the quake damaged 90 percent of the homes in the region where dZi works).
“We have the local knowledge and experience on the ground in Nepal,” said dZi’s Ben Ayers. “We’re working on getting kids back to school soon.”
The work to rebuild Nepal and get the lives shattered by the earthquake back on track is not close to over, however. People are generous when disasters like this are in the spotlight, but it will take a continued, concerted effort for years to bring back Nepal. To keep supporting that effort, think about donating to these worthy organizations that are deeply connected to the Sherpa community both here and in Nepal: The dZi Foundation, Sherpa Adventure Gear (the CrowdRise page is here bit.ly/1F644kc), and the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. Also, the Embolden Alliance has been on the ground getting food, water and shelter (we donated tents) to people in Nepal. They still need shelters.
You can also visit Tibet’s Restaurant and Bar in Louisville, Sherpa’s Adventurers Restaurant and Bar in Boulder and the Sherpa House Restaurant and Cultural Center in Golden, to support the Colorado Sherpa community and learn more ways to help. You can donate directly to Pemba Sherpa’s efforts for his hometown of Sengma on his YouCaring page .
Keep up the effort, keep caring and we will rebuild together.
