Nuneaton residents help rebuild earthquake-hit Nepal

It has been revealed that donations given to the Nepal Welfare Trust account will be used to build houses for some of the poorest people in the earthquake-hit country.

The account was set-up in Nuneaton by Om Gurung, MBE, chair of the Nuneaton branch of the British Gurkha Veterans Association. Thousands of pounds have been raised by generous residents from Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire and further afield to help those hit by the devastating natural disaster.

Some of the funds have already been donated to the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRN), the Gurkha Welfare Trust and the Nepalese Embassy in London. The rest will now be used to build new houses for those in the most needy areas of the country whose homes were destroyed by the earthquakes in April.

 "The money will be carefully targeted where it is needed the most. We will be looking at people who have no outside income and are the poorest families in the area.

"This is a district response led by the Rotary clubs of Nuneaton and Arbury. We're hoping to build about 20 houses which will be spread across the Tanahun area. We didn't want to target just one place, we're trying to help as many people as possible."

Each house will cost around £2,200 to build and fundraising will continue until August 1.

The Rotary Club of Nuneaton will then apply for a grant to match what has been raised from Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland.

Building will then begin in October following the monsoon season.

Om Gurung said: "There are more than eight million people homeless. We obviously can't build them all a home, but it's about trying to do what we can and giving a helping hand."

 "The generosity of people in Nuneaton and across the area has been fantastic. It's quite humbling that everyone has been so trusting. We now want to let people know where there money is going and the difference it will make."

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the Nepal Welfare Trust account can do this by visiting HSBC and putting funds into account number 42034212, sort code 40 35 20.