Industry response to support RedR disaster relief work has raised £150,000 in four weeks and kick-started the massiver task of rebuilding of lives across the region, says Katie Grey.

The industry’s support for RedR’s recent response to the Nepal earthquakes has been extraordinary

Since launching our appeal four weeks ago, we have raised £150,000 to respond to the Nepal earthquake, and donations continue to come in every day. 

This is an absolutely incredible amount, especially when considering the size and profile of RedR in comparison to many of the other agencies responding to the disaster.  

"When we train one person, we train them to share what they have learned with their colleagues, family, friends and neighbours."

The majority of this sum has been donated and fundraised by our Patrons and corporate partners and really demonstrates how important this support is.

Such support from the private sector has been essential to RedR’sdisiaster relief and training programmes for many years, enabling us to fulfil our vision of a world where the right people have the right skills to respond to disasters.  It has been wonderful to see support ranging from bucket collections to bake sales, yoga classes to black tie dinners, corporate donations to payroll giving. 

The money raised has enabled us to make a real difference in Nepal where our overarching goal is to help individuals and communities rebuild their lives and livelihoods – to recover from this disaster, better prepared for future disasters.  

We will do this by delivering a programme of training and capacity building tailored to the needs of those affected by the Nepal earthquakes.

RedR’s training is participatory, innovative and tailored to cultures and context, meaning the skills we share are retained, put to immediate use, and passed on.  We will train Nepalese people – the first responders to disasters.  

"This crisis, affecting hundreds of thousands of people across Nepal, is being met in the immediate term by emergency supply of temporary shelter, such as tents, or people sharing space in less severely damaged buildings. But this is not a lasting solution."

And when we train one person, we train them to share what they have learned with their colleagues, family, friends and neighbours. We train people in schools and hospitals, in local government and community groups. This means when we spend your donation on training one person, the impact will be on hundreds of people, and for years to come.

We have already received bespoke training enquiries from organisations including CARE International, Christian Aid, Oxfam, Practical Action, Save the Children and Unicef and also plan to support individuals outside of the major international agencies.  

In addition we have completed a full needs assessment for the affected areas, and have discovered that in some regions, including Dhading, Sindupalchok and others, some 60-90% of homes have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes.

This crisis, affecting hundreds of thousands of people across Nepal, is being met in the immediate term by emergency supply of temporary shelter, such as tents, or people sharing space in less severely damaged buildings. 

But this is not a lasting solution.

Our training programme will start next week in Nepal, and based on our experience in previous disasters, we anticipate it will last for several months. 

We hope to work with local aid workers, government employees and members of the affected communities to help them develop the skills they need not just to rebuild their homes, but to build them back stronger and better able to withstand future disasters.

If you have any questions about our response, or would like to discuss any aspects of your relationship with RedR further, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit www.redr.org.uk/nepal.

Katie Grey is RedR’s Corporate Relations Manager – contact her at Katie.Grey@redr.org.uk

Connections and Expertise – you can help RedR to help others

Help us in Nepal.  If your firm has a presence in Nepal, or connections to accommodation, transport or other infrastructure, please let me know.  We will have staff in Nepal for several months and as a small NGO, all connections and assistance is useful.

Get involved in our Ready to Respond project involving the private sector in urban disaster responses.  If you have staff with skills that might be useful in a disaster response, and would like to work with us to develop a framework for making this happen, please let me know.

Ask your technical staff to help respond to aid worker questions on our online technical support service, KnowledgePoint