Shoutout Sunday #2: Nepal earthquake heroes: the deceased, rescue workers, and those who survived against the odds

I don't think anybody can truly imagine seeing their house and
neighbourhood look like this!

On Saturday the 25th of April 2015, we witnessed once again just what Mother Nature is truly capable of as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal, even stretching into neighbouring countries, India, China, and Bangladesh. Every picture, video, death, story, etc., that comes from the incident is nothing short of heartbreaking, with lives being lost, many more injured, and decimation everywhere. People are reporting that Nepal wasn't ready for this sort of catastrophe (how can you seriously ever be ready for such a horrible event?!), and that aid isn't getting to remote areas quick enough, but I'm here to talk as positively as I possibly can about such a tragic situation; to shine a light on those who are rescuing people from the rubble - be it dead or alive - those who have survived against all the odds, and to make sure that those who died aren't forgotten (once I publish a written piece, I usually leave it alone, but I will constantly update this blog entry with up-to-date information on the death toll number, as I believe every life matters).

A 4-month old baby being rescued

What is always the most heartwarming thing about such an event is how the whole world comes together to help in any way they can, with aid coming from all corners of the globe - many European countries, Australia, the US, India, Qatar, etc. - in the help of rescuing any lives that can be saved. I believe that everything positive helps to show them that they are never alone: whether you're one of the people who has gone out there to help, or maybe you've donated money, or even if you've just shown your support on Twitter or Facebook with a caring status - it all counts. Without the world coming together, many more lives would've been lost, but we're managing to hear breathtaking stories about people who have defied belief by surviving, even after many days of being in peril; it really is touching. I just recently read about Pemba Lama (seen on a stretcher in the picture below this paragraph): a 15-year old who kept himself alive by drinking water from wet clothing and eating clarified butter, and was then rescued on Thursday by rescue teams from Nepal and the US, to the cheer of a huge crowd. Then, on the same day, a woman named Krishna Devi Khadka was rescued from a collapsed building by rescue teams from five different countries. The Home Ministry spokesman, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, has said that it will be a miracle if anybody else is found alive, whilst not giving up hope, but I still think that people will be found alive - the stories above prove this, the human spirit truly is a wonderful thing, and miracles can and do happen! EDIT: in fact, to prove my point, a 101-year old was found alive one week after the earthquake!

Pemba Lama: survived 5 days on butter and water (from wet clothing) before getting rescued - truly a determined, clever, strong, and inspirational human being!

It's not just the locals who are in our thoughts and prayers, though, as there are a lot of people from other countries in Nepal; some visiting, some living there, and some were climbing Mount Everest when the earthquake created avalanches - some of which were deadly - and it's believed that 71 foreigners (EDIT: now 88) have lost their lives so far. Eight Britons were rescued from a monastery one week after the earthquake, with another seven rescued by an RAF C-17 aircraft, and 120 Britons were flown out of the country on Thursday; these, and many others, have the luxury - if such a word can be used - of being able to leave the wreckage of Nepal. It is, however, the people who have lost their homes, their lifestyles, that we have to continue to help for a long time, with the United Nations claiming that 3 million people are currently in need of urgent aid - in the form of food, water, shelter, etc. - and that $415 million is needed to help everybody, with $61 million kindly donated so far. In the UK, £33 million has been raised so far, and £17.5 million more has come from the government. I couldn't possibly name every country that has helped, but the support for Nepal so far has been immense, encouraging, and moving.

Hundreds of funeral pyres lit for some of those who have sadly died

Pictures like the ones below this paragraph show how beautiful landmarks have been brought to the ground, and pictures at the top of this blog show the state of 130,000+ homes, and we have to help those who have survived this tragic event to rebuild their lives. I don't think anybody can imagine what the people involved in this earthquake have gone through; I've heard some people from Nepal say that the dead are better off, but we can't let anybody take that attitude. We must help them to eventually get back to a stage of normality, no matter how long that takes. As I conclude this piece of writing, 14,993 (EDIT: now 19,009) people are believed to be injured, many are yet to be found, and many need help urgently, but it seems right to finish by saying this: to the 7,418 (EDIT: now 8,632) who have sadly died because of this horrific event, R.I.P.; you are all heroes, you didn't deserve to die, and you will never be forgotten. <3

Dharahara before being wrecked

Thank you so much for reading this! Below you will find a selection of charities that you can donate to, complete with links to their websites. Please share this blog around, spread the love, and do whatever you can to help the people of Nepal, and all those affected by this harrowing event.

The Dharahara, also known as the Bhimsen Tower, is just one landmark that is wrecked by the Nepal earthquake. In the picture above and to the left, see how beautiful this tower used to look

A selection of charities you can donate to, with links to their websites:

Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.uk/
DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee): http://www.dec.org.uk/
Save The Children: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/
Oxfam: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/
Unicef: http://maintenance.unicef.org.uk/
International Medical Corps: https://internationalmedicalcorps.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=2962