TPRF Expands Nepal Earthquake Relief Efforts

LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) continues to expand relief efforts in Nepal, providing emergency supplies to people in remote villages that are among the hardest hit by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit two weeks ago and the May 11 7.3 aftershock. Due to its long-term Food for People (FFP) program in the country, as well as its partnership with Premsagar Foundation Nepal, the international humanitarian organization has proven to be in a unique position to help those most in need.

Following both quakes, TPRF immediately transformed its existing dining facility in Tasarpu into a shelter, providing food, water and emergency supplies to hundreds of families. Volunteers have visited neighboring communities to assess needs, traveling as far as six hours northeast of Kathmandu into the mountain districts of Gorkha and Sindhupalchok, where reports indicate that 90 percent of homes were severely damaged. They delivered packages of tarps, sleeping pads, rice, daal, stoves, cooking utensils, flashlights and other essentials to hundreds of people in these areas days before any government aid arrived.

TPRF's campaign to raise funds to support earthquake victims is approaching US$200,000, contributed by over 1,700 people from 50 countries. US$150,000 has already been awarded to Premsagar Foundation Nepal to fund its immediate efforts.

"Had there been no Food for People program, we would have died of hunger. It was raining, and we would not even have had a place to protect us," says Chandra Waiba, who lives nearby TPRF's facility in Tasarpu.

At the request of village leaders, TPRF has also started supplying hundreds of corrugated galvanized iron (CGI) sheets that residents will use to construct temporary housing ahead of monsoon season.

"I'm still afraid. So many houses have been damaged, and there is no place to live. My food provisions and clothes all are covered in the rubble of my broken home," says Dal Bahadur B.K., a Tasarpu resident. "The ground is still vibrating from the quakes. I need to build a small hut, and I'm not sure how, but the Foundation is helping a lot."

For the most up-to-date information on TPRF's relief efforts in Nepal, as well as high-resolution photographs, visit this news page.

To contribute to this effort use this special TPRF donation form.

About The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF)
Founded in 2001, The Prem Rawat Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that strives to address the fundamental human needs of food, water and peace so that people can live with dignity, peace and prosperity. For more information, visit: www.tprf.org.

About Food for People (FFP) Nepal

TPRF established the Food for People program in Nepal in 2009, providing a nutritious, hot meal daily for children and infirm adults, employing local villagers and offering hygiene and agricultural education in order to improve community health, student enrollment, and the local economy. The Tasarpu facility now serves more than 8,000 each month. In addition to Nepal, there are FFP facilities in Ghana and India.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150513/215693

SOURCE The Prem Rawat Foundation