Okanagan volunteers back from Nepal

KELOWNA – It decimated houses, wiped out villages and killed around 9,000 people. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal on April 25 devastated a country already struggling with poverty. Fortunately, aid started coming in fast from around the world, including Canada and the Okanagan.

“Many people lost absolutely everything they own in this quake,’ says Kelowna resident Kevin Edgecombe.

Edgecombe is one of a handful of local volunteers who just got back from the quake-ravaged country. The group spent three weeks rebuilding structures and providing aid to the people most in need.

“The overtone was very scared people. They were frightened to go back in their homes,” he says. “There were a lot of psychological issues going on with people.”

The home builder is also the president of a charity called Inter-cultural Women’s Educational Network (IWEN). After learning of the devastating quake, IWEN quickly organized local fundraisers including a massive bottle drive in Kelowna to provide some relief to the Nepalese people.

“I have always been impressed with Okanagan people and how they jump on in times of need,” says Edgecombe.

Local efforts raised about $88,000, money that Edgecombe and his group took to Nepal to help the country begin the daunting task of rebuilding including classrooms that were destroyed in the quake.

“We participated in the reconstruction of four classrooms and we committed to paying for another six classrooms,” he says.

The group also made its way around Kathmandu and the surrounding area seeking out people desperate for help.

“The areas we visited have poverty that I never experienced before,” he says. “We purchased the metal roofing products for about 109 homes. In addition to that, another 10 homes or so we bought products where people desperately needed a roof over their head.”

On top of the $88,000 that Okanagan residents raised for Nepal, the federal government is matching $66,000 of that.