GIVING TUESDAY: FUNDS FOR FOOD KITS

Guest post by Ashley Mathews, Executive Director of Trek to Teach.

Food security was an issue in Nepal before the Coronavirus outbreak. Now, the impact of COVID-19 has halted the harvesting season and will escalate the need for food quickly. With schools being closed, our focus at Trek to Teach has shifted, once again. Five years ago Nepal was struck with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that shattered road access to remote regions, making it impossible for food and medical supplies to get distributed. The country has been on national lockdown since March 24th, and we are feeling a sense of Deja Vu with all movement on the roads, by vehicle and on foot, strictly prohibited with very limited exceptions.

The Nepali government took important precautions, closing their borders early which has resulted in less than 2,000 confirmed COVID cases nationwide. While extreme restrictions on movement within the country has stopped the spread, it’s simultaneously limited the opportunity to work. Work from home isn’t an option for most Nepali’s. Those who are most vulnerable to food insecurity are the daily wage workers who have been out of work for over 45 days. According to the World Food Programme, 25% of Nepal’s population lives on less than .50 cents a day and now, many have no income.

In 2015, after the earthquake we had to rethink and expand our mission to provide safe buildings for students to learn. Now, again, we must adapt. We believe education is a basic need and right, but first students and their families need bellies full of Dal Bhat and soap to stay clean. We are raising money to supply food and hygiene kits to those in need. Our goal is always to empower Nepali students, right now this means supporting the basic need of food security so that when schools reopen hungry stomachs won’t be a distraction. 

Please support our efforts to supply the food banks in Nepal: Funds for Food Kits.

<3 Trek to Teach Team