27 April 2015
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Clonakilty born Declan Murphy, who founded the just-one charity (www.just-one.org), 11 years ago which works to promote educational opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalised chiildren in Nepal at community level, has expressed his shock and sadness at the devastation caused by the earthquake there at the weekend.
Declan who has been living full-time in Kathmandu since he established the charity in 2004, is coincidentally in Clonakilty at present, having arrived home just last weekend for a couple of weeks.
Since the news of the earthquake, he has been making efforts to contact all involved in the just-one organisation on the ground in Nepal and as far as he is aware, all are thankfully safe.
Declan said:
It’s not yet 24 hours since a massive earthquake rattled the Himalayas and brought destruction upon the entire region. With the epicentre of this 7.8 quake laying roughly mid-way between the city’s of Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal certainly seems to have been the country which was hardest hit by this truly catastrophic event that’s still unfolding as I type these lines.
First off, I should say I’m incredibly relieved to report that, from what news and details I’ve been able to gather so far, the children supported by just-one and our team of staff have all survived relatively unscathed and are currently safe and well – albeit camped outside for safety and still frequently contending with the significant aftershocks which are expected to continue throughout the day ahead.
While I’m currently back in Ireland dealing with family matters, during what’s been a very surreal and emotional day, I’m happy to say I’ve had skype contact with both our Program Manager and our Chairman, as well as contact with one of our social workers, as well as a number of friends, on various social media channels and, as useless and all as I feel from here on the other side of the planet, I’m as confident as I can be that all those we work to support in Kathmandu will remain safe and well through whatever lies ahead.
As this first day-after starts to dawn across Nepal right now, I’ve got no doubt that there are some scary and uncertain days ahead with this tragedy continuing to unfold. Electricity and clean water will almost certainly be in short supply. Emergency medical services will be stretched to the absolute limit and most probably beyond. The number of dead and injured will only rise further – not just in the Kathmandu Valley, but throughout rural Nepal too and perhaps in Tibet, India and Bangladesh too where deaths have also been reported – as the true depth of this terrible destruction becomes more apparent over the days ahead.
Photo of a collapsed building in Kathmandu.Buildings reduced to rubble just a mere 5 minute walk from our centre
Destruction that is so far beyond the scope and capacity of just-one that it would be completely disingenuous of me to even try suggesting that you could donate to us if you’d like to make a meaningful contribution towards the emergency relief work that’ll be desperately needed over the days, weeks and indeed months ahead right across the Himalayas… There are far larger, better equipped and more well-known global organisations which I’m sure have already started looking for the financial support they’ll need in that regard.
What I can and will say here though is that just-one does need urgent help to keep more than 70 children safe and well while we continue to support them and their families during this period of uncertainty… We’ll need support to help them and their families to start getting their lives back on track again… This is over 30 families who were already struggling against the chronic poverty which saw their respective children come to our attention in the first place… Long after Nepal’s current trauma has faded from the global news headlines and the wider public conscience, just-one will need continued support to keep doing all we do for the ever-growing family of children we work with and for…
So, while we can’t offer to help heal the immediate and massive trauma which hundreds and indeed thousands in Nepal are suffering right now, we do nevertheless provide a very real and meaningful channel for anyone who’d like to see their donation having an equally real and meaningful impact upon the lives of grass-roots beneficiaries desperately in need of and so totally deserving of support at this tragic time. Whether it’s a once off donation or a preferred monthly contribution in support of just-one‘s work, you’ll find all the required details here and can rest assured too that it’ll be put to the very best use in support of the incredibly brave and resilient gang of kids we’re so privileged to work with in Nepal.
