25 April 2015 was a devastating day for Nepal, as the country suffered one of its worst-hit earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8.
Death tolls surpassed 7,200 and the number of injured has creeped to double of that, with the figures including both locals and foreigners.
Kathmandu airport was reported to be too small "to deal with huge volume of traffic”, and chaos hit the disaster-struck grounds.
UN officials are estimating that $415 million is needed for humanitarian reliefs, with 3 million people in need of food aid, 130,000 houses destroyed, 24,000 people living in makeshift camps and 20 teams working to reunite lost children with their families.
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Help from all borders of the world
With the sudden quake, people from all over the world are sending relief, donations, daily essentials, medical aid and manpower to Nepal, in hope to help these families who have lost their property and family members.
Back home in Singapore, several authorities have set forth to render their assistance during this period. Officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), a forensic pathologist from the Health Sciences Authority and a medical team made their way to Nepal on 1 May 2015. On 3 May 2015, HomeTeam deployed officers to aid in sending relief to the community.
Temporary shelters have been set up for the people, while the need for medical supplies escalates due to the outbreak of diseases and the sheer number of deaths and destruction of the city.
How Singaporeans can help
While many of us in Singapore are keeping Nepal in our thoughts, some of us would like to help in one way or another - in hope that the nation will recover soon from this trying period.
We have put together a list of official organisations to which Singaporeans can send their donations to extend the help needed during this difficult time.
List of official organistions in Singapore to send donations for victims of the earthquake in Nepal:
1. Mercy Relief
There are five ways to donate - cheque, cash, funds transfer, credit card and tele-mercy.
Click here to get started.
2. Singapore Red Cross
Walk-in cash donations, cheque, DBS/POSB ATM, online portals and DBS internet banking. More details on the guidelines for donations can be found here.
Do note that donations such as food, clothes, medicines etc are not accepted due to logistical considerations. Such considerations include the expiry dates, dietary preferences of the disaster-hit country, storage conditions, manpower and time required for the inspection and lack of storage area available in the premises.
For more information visit https://www.redcross.org.sg/news/nepal-earthquake-faqs.
3. Islamic Relief Singapore
Donations to the Nepal Earthquake Appeal can be made on the website and collective effort goes to providing hygiene kits, clean water and tents for families.
Click here to get started.
4. DBS Bank
Donations can be made via DBS Internet Banking and Mobile Banking, DBS Paylah! and ATMs islandwide.
For a step-by-step guide on how to donate, find out more here.
Every effort counts in helping Nepal get through this difficult period. If you know of other official organisations in which Singaporeans can send their donations to, do let us know in the comments box below.