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Small change collected in bucket in Temuka has added up to make a big difference.
When a glacier collapsed along the Nepal-China border at the end of August, causing devastating floods and landslips, Temuka’s Sherpa Shop jumped to action.
Installing a bucket in their store on King St and fielding phone calls, the organisation managed to raise $11,000 for disaster relief and community support.
Trustee Marg Stocker said $6000 of that had been raised locally.
Mrs Stocker said it was “a wonderful reflection of the generosity of our local community and beyond”.
She said the organisation “wanted to express to the community — and especially to all those who have donated — our incredible sincere thanks”.
“We are hugely appreciative of our communities support, it just gives us a reflection of how wonderful our community is.”
“It doesn’t matter how small or how great it is, it all goes towards making a difference.
“And they just add up.”
She had thought if the community had made $3000 or $4000 it would be tremendous, but that had quickly been surpassed.
Mrs Stocker said the money would go “a long way further over there”.
While the communities the trust supported were in the eastern areas of Nepal and the disaster had unfolded in the western areas, it had not left their families unaffected.
Six people from one of those areas had gone missing in the tragedy.
“What happens is a lot of the men leave villages to go and work for trekking companies for the season, so they could have been working as cooks, or guides or porters.
“They are not coming home.”
That meant their families were not only dealing with the loss of their family member, but the family could also have lost their main source of income.
Mrs Stocker said she hoped to get a percentage of the fundraising through to those families this week.
For the rest of the money, they would be sending it through to their partner organisation, the Himalayan Trust Nepal (HTN).
HTN would distribute funds to where it felt they were most needed.
The bucket was still in place at the shop this week for those others who wanted to donate.
“This is going to be ongoing for these people for a long long time.”
Mrs Stocker could be contacted by phone on 027 390-9099.
Website on https://forgottensherpas.org/en/
shelley.inon@alliedmedia.co.nz