For many of us in the Birkdale community the news during the last week of August will have raised so many concerns.  Our close relationship with the people and communities of Nepal make this type of event feel very close to home.

Looking into this event on national news agencies, I have found that  the BBC and The Guardian newspaper, have given the most clear picture, whilst also maintaining a sensitivity towards the victims of this disaster.

Please be aware that some photography is very graphic and other online sources can be less sensitive about what they publish.

RNV Nepal is the charity founded by Birkdale linked community, with 10 of the trustees being either serving or retired Birkdale staff, it is quite a close relationship.  There are some specific areas that RNV will be supporting, particularly with the Aanandit Charity Centre, who are able to reach more remote areas and are an organisation we have worked alongside for decades.  In particular each year we contribute to microfinance loans and there is a definite sense that small scale start up loans will be needed in the forthcoming years.  More information on both organisations can be found here: RNV Nepal   Aanandit Charity Centre

For immediate aid, large scale international organisations are a way of giving to support rescue efforts, some links are shared here but this is not an exhaustive list:

Suggested by Nepal Sanctuary Treks, the Nepalese Government have set up a disaster relief fund:

https://pmdrf.nchl.com.np/ 

Alternatively:

British Red Cross

Oxfam

Community Action Nepal

UNICEF

Birkdale In Nepal is a huge part of the school year and we are all geared up to get out there again in 2027.  The short answer is no and there are many reasons for this.

• The time of year we travelled mitigates much of this type of natural hazard.  We travel after the winter period and this makes the glacial areas much more stable after a seasonal cooling.  The opposite to the circumstances that led to the glacial collapse, in the post monsoon period of the August disaster.  

  • This factor also creates a much drier period in Nepal, significantly reducing the potential for flood events.

• Our decisions around trekking routes are always reflected on and reassessed each year and the 2027 trek to Mardi Himal has been chosen, in particular, to reduce long distance Himalayan bus travel.  A 2 hour drive from Nepal's second largest city, Pokhara, makes the start and finish of this trek very accessible to mainline infrastructure.

• Our main areas of operating, whilst in schools, are Kathmandu and Lumbini and therefore gives a degree of removal from the glacial valleys of the Himalayas.

Our confidence is high and one of our main ways to aid the communities in Nepal is by continuing our longstanding relationship by adventuring in their wonderful country.