In April 2015, Nepal suffered a huge earthquake which killed 9,000 people, injured 22,000 more as well as flattening hundreds of villages, schools and hospitals. This was followed by one of Nepal’s worst ever monsoons in August 2017 forcing 400,000 to leave their homes.
Since the earthquake, the Gurkha Welfare Trust has been at the centre of international relief efforts raising £70 million to support veterans, widows and their wider communities in Nepal.
The charity has created 112 new water projects serving 31,603 homes, and its 400 staff at special medical clinics and working in the field have treated 111,910 patients in the last year.
“Our medical clinics and our Welfare Pension for veterans offer very direct and targeted support which benefits Gurkhas and their families but many more of our other projects also benefit their wider communities across Nepal,” said Adam Bentham, The Gurkha Welfare Trust. “Before and particularly since 2015, we have been hard at work improving schools and other buildings while bringing in vital resources such as clean water which will help the generations to come and a huge amount has been achieved in the last 12 months which would not have been possible without our supporters.”
In addition to its aid work, the Trust runs two residential homes in Nepal for 51 surviving veterans and widows, and it employs special teams and vehicles to assist many others still living in remote mountain villages across Nepal, who would otherwise have to trek for days to reach the nearest town with medical or welfare facilities.
