We awoke this morning with the terrible news that Kathmandu in Nepal has suffered a catastrophic earthquake and that buildings have collapsed and thousands of people are injured, missing, or dead. Traveling makes the world so much smaller. Our joy of traveling is more about the interesting people we meet than the sites we see, and we are saddened by this disaster.
We have donated to the Humanist Disaster Relief (HDR) Network. Here is the link if you would like to donate:
100% of the donations raised during this drive will be going to a secular organization working on the ground in response and recovery of this devastated region.
HDR Drive is a cooperative program between Foundation Beyond Belief and American Humanist Association.
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| The open markets and every day people making a living and providing for their families. |
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| Narrow passages through old construction |
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| Lovely, vibrant people, making a living in a crumbling city. |
In March of 2013, we traveled to Nepal and India. The lives of the people in Kathmandu are not easy to begin with. Life is hard and most of the people live in conditions that westerners would deem substandard. Much of the time while we were walking in the narrow, crowded streets and visiting ancient landmarks, we were amazed that the buildings were standing at all given the smaller earthquakes that had rocked this area and the lack of rebar and shaky foundations.
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| This building like many others would not take a major earthquake or even a minor one. |
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| Colorfully charming, but a dangerous place to be. |
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| Repairs of previous damage.....no apparent building codes here. |
We had been in New Zealand's Christchurch just a few weeks before the earthquake that brought down the church tower in 2011 and destroyed many of the buildings there. At the time, we declined to take a tour of the tower because ...well we just didn't want to chance being in the tower or church if there was another earthquake like the one that had damaged it just a couple of months before.
In Kathmandu, it was obvious that these people were living dangerous lives in the old buildings where they worked, laughed, lived, and had families. From the news this morning it looks like I saw the remnants of this tower.
Our hearts go out to them.
Saddened Worrall Travel Rs
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