FOLLOWING the earthquake in Nepal, fundraising efforts are taking place all over the world, and Monmouth Rotary and the Lions Club are just two of the organisations helping to raise funds locally.

Rotary are looking to fund four Shelterboxes for the homeless victims. Each box provides emergency shelter and vital supplies and contain a stove, tent water filter necessary to support communities around the world overwhelmed by disaster.

After Nepal's worst earthquake in 80 years, hospitals in the country's capital Kathmandu were devastated, forcing medical staff to treat their patients outside with dwindling supplies.

However, ShelterBox has been able to provide tents to four hospitals in the city creating safe, covered spaces where patients can be treated in privacy. They will be used for carrying out minor operations, changing dressings and as mobile health clinics too.

ShelterBox is also sending further aid to Nepal, starting with an initial 500 shelter kits, which can be used to mend structures and create temporary shelters. However, the pre-positioned stocks of equipment in the country meant that the response team was able to start helping people whose lives have been shattered by the earthquake as soon as they arrived in the country. 

The quake has damaged an estimated 600,000 homes in the country, leaving almost three million people with nowhere to go.  Frequent aftershocks mean that even surviving buildings could collapse at any minute, forcing people to sleep out in the open.

Families have resorted to creating temporary shelters made from whatever can be salvaged from the rubble, but these flimsy shelters aren't enough to protect people from the harsh weather bearing down on Nepal.

A joint statement issued by the Rotary and Lions said: "We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the street collection for the victims of the Nepalese earthquake on Friday 1st May.

The total collected £2,200.23, will make a significant contribution to alleviating the suffering. The Rotary Club of Monmouth had, in anticipation of the town's support, already sent £2360 for four Shelterboxes to support immediate relief.

Prior to the street collection Monmouth Lions Club had also already donated £500 to its GB's association's immediate response to the disaster. That response included funds to obtain: 56 cartons each containing 16,000 tablets capable of purifying nine million litres of water, and 280 Lifesaver water filtration units capable of treating 4.2 million litres of contaminated water.

These items were airfreighted to Nepal on 1st May.