Tragedy and Hope

Dear All,

I know many of you are already thinking about and praying for Nepal as you receive this newsletter. Last week's catastrophic glacier collapse and subsequent flooding have stunned the world, and as I write this, I know all of us trustees feel immense sorrow for a country several of us have called home and whose people are so precious to us all.

Just one of the women that WWR helps had family in the valley that the water surge tore through; I'll call her Sara. You've probably seen the district Rasuwa mentioned in the news; that's where the floodwaters started. Sara went to secondary school in this district and, while there, fell in love with and married a boy who was Tibetan and regularly crossed the border from Tibet.

It seems this boy wasn't particularly good at staying home, and he would often disappear up into the mountains and back into Tibet. Despite his many absences, he and Sara had a son together in 2013. As the marriage didn't work out, Sara left for Kathmandu and, soon after arriving, became a Christian.

Thankfully, when the water tore through Rasuwa last week, Sara's husband had just enough time to run up a hill, so he was safe. However, his home was washed away. Tragically, though, many members of his extended family were swept away, as were their homes. 

Please pray for Sara, especially her son, and countless other families who will have similarly lost family like this. It's hard to imagine the pain and loss they are bearing.

In our last newsletter, we told you about a mother whose young twin boys had both been diagnosed with imminent kidney failure. Thank you for all your prayers for them, and for reaching out to ask how they are. There have been several developments.

First, the boys' father returned and is doing a good job of taking responsibility for his family. The boys have been receiving wonderful care at the Teaching Hospital, and the family's landlord built a new room (see photo above) at his house so the boys can sleep in relative isolation to avoid infection.

Social media fundraising has covered much of the cost of their treatment so far. Anisha took part in a TikTok video to highlight her sons' needs, and the Nepali public and a social media influencer responded generously. We are delighted by this, as for many years we have wanted to encourage Nepali people to do more to care for their own people. Sadly, a belief in karma and that suffering is deserved has long been pervasive. However, it's wonderful that Nepal's young people are changing their minds and wanting to help those less fortunate than themselves. We pray this continues, and in response to the floods, we can already see similar kindness in action. 

The twins are currently having regular dialysis and undergoing testing to determine whether their mother can donate her kidney to save one of them. Their father is also willing to become a donor, which is wonderful. 

An issue for prayer is their schooling. While they are receiving this treatment, and because their immune systems are weakened, they are not attending classes. We pray they can return to school soon and that their health needs will not hamper their education.

Thank you for caring for Nepal and its people. Your support gives us strength.

Anna, Jan, Nic, Annie and Marilyn.

The Trustees of Women Without Roofs – Nepal

Our website is being revamped (thank you, Annie!), so if you have questions in the meantime, please email trustees@wwr-nepal.org.

You can still donate to us through Stewardship by arranging a one-off or regular donation, with or without gift aid.

We recommend giving to the Christian organisation International Nepal Fellowship if you would like to help with flood relief.