2015-04-28 14:11:00

Church aids earthquake victims in Nepal


(Vatican Radio) The Church is offering aid and shelter to the people of Nepal after an earthquake devastated the nation, killing thousands and affecting millions.

“The Catholic Church has stepped right in, offering sanctuary, offering shelter and, within the grounds of churches, putting up tents,” said Matthew Carter from the Catholic aid agency CAFOD. He spoke from London with Vatican Radio's Ann Schneible.

Listen to Ann Schneible's full interview with Matthew Carter:

Tens of thousands of people are without shelter and are living without clean water or sanitation.

The 7.9 earthquake struck the Himalayan nation on Saturday near the capital Kathmandu, killing at least 4,349 people and injuring thousands more.

The United Nations said 8 million people were affected by the quake and that 1.4 million people were in need of food.

Carter told Vatican Radio he had spoken to one colleague on the ground in Nepal, who described the scene as he was en route from Kathmandu to Pokhara.

“The main road, the main artery between the two cities, was totally blocked with thousands of people flooding onto the roads,” he said. “What became quickly apparent from this colleague is this is huge."

Poverty in the country is also a factor in providing the necessary to response to the disaster.

“For a country with endemic poverty, a country with very weak infrastructure, running a program into this is going to have major challenges.”

Carter also stressed the importance of utilizing the Church at the local level in coordinating the humanitarian response from the United Nations and the government.

CAFOD and the Church are on the ground “before, during and after,” he said. “Local knowledge, understanding people, understanding communities, working through churches and outreach: that’s what the UN and the government will want to draw on.”

The quake also triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest killing at least 17 climbers and guides, including four foreigners, making it the worst single disaster on the world's highest peak.








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