On 26 August, flash floods tore through northern Nepal, triggered by a glacial lake outburst and torrential rain in the Himalayan region. In a matter of hours, entire villages were swept away. Thousands of lives have been lost, with over 1,355 confirmed deaths and close to 5,000 people still missing. At least 93,000 people have been affected.
Our partner organisation GC3 shares:
“The destruction goes far beyond the immediate loss of life. Homes, roads, bridges and schools have been destroyed; 18 schools alone are gone, leaving an estimated 10,000 children without a place to learn. Whole communities are now cut off, with aid unable to reach them by road. Families who survived the floods are facing a second crisis: disease risk from disrupted water and sanitation, and the threat of further flooding as the region remains unstable.
“In the middle of this, our partners at Alongsiders already have local people on the ground. Alongsiders works through teams embedded in their own communities across Nepal: the same people who were mentoring and discipling children and youth before the floods hit are now responding and reaching out to those who are displaced. We are inviting you to stand with them.
“Please pray: for those still searching for missing loved ones, for the safety of relief workers reaching cut-off communities, and for Alongsiders' teams as they care for those who have lost their homes and, in some cases, family members.
“If you're able to give as well, your gift would help local teams provide emergency food, clean water, shelter and care for children and families who have lost everything, while continuing to walk alongside them.”
Howick Community Church is one local CCCNZ church that partners with Alongsiders, as the commending church for Mission Partners Craig and Nay Greenfield. Pastor Brigitte Crowe says they have been praying with Alongsiders.
“In the wake of the landslide and flooding we’ve been praying for them and supporting them. We’re grateful to God that we can be partners with them in mission, and have appreciated the updates Craig has been sending through regularly since the landslide that help us pray for specific needs.”
Brigitte says that as a church they deeply value their ongoing partnership with Craig and Nay, and Alongsiders.
“We’re about to open an Alongsiders Op Shop at the church—we don’t want to be a sending church in name only, we want to be a sending church in deed as well.”
If you or your church would like to donate to the Nepal Flood Relief Fund, GC3 is helping make that possible. Click through to read the latest update from Alongsiders’ Craig Greenfield, and find a link to the donation form.
