Dear Friends,

Nepal is still reeling from the impacts of the 7.9 earthquake that hit the country just before noon on Saturday. We thank God that all UMN staff and sites are reported as safe. All expatriate staff (with the exception of three in Okhaldhunga) were in Pokhara for the annual Expatriates’ Retreat. A small group, including Executive Director Mark Galpin, was able to return to Kathmandu on Sunday evening. Mark will be co-ordinating UMN’s response from there.

There are no reports of damage from Tansen or Okhaldhunga; Dhading district has suffered significant damage and some loss of life. Our Headquarters property in Kathmandu appears to be structurally sound, although there is damage to some equipment. We hope to be providing regular updates on our Website and Facebook pages from today, once server and power problems are resolved.

UMN will be providing staff with expertise to other agencies, in accordance with our emergency plans and as appropriate. We expect that longer-term involvement will be focused on Dhading. Two of our medical staff from Tansen will be travelling to assist at the HDCS hospital at Lamjung today, and two others will be joining an INF medical team in Gorkha. Please pray for their safety.

Please pray:

• for our staff, particularly those from Kathmandu who live out in the cluster areas, and are concerned about family and friends in the capital.
• for people living in Kathmandu, who are frightened, who may have lost loved ones, and who are facing shortages of water, electricity and food.
• for Mark and Binod Awale, our Disaster Reponse advisor, and other key staff as they co-ordinate our response.
• for our Supporting Partners, as they consider their response.

Donations can be made to UMN via the UMN website. If you live in the UK, please give through the UMN Support Trust www.umnsupporttrust.org which allows us to access Gift Aid. Alternatively, give through one of our Supporting Partners in your country.

We are very grateful for offers of individual support that have come in from around the world. However in this situation it is not helpful to have individuals arriving in Nepal to help out. There is plenty of manpower locally. Highly trained and experienced relief teams are coming in and that is appropriate.

Thank you for your support during this very difficult time.