By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
FORMER Healesville Rotary Club president Allan Davidson and his wife Ruth are very grateful for the support they have received from the community to help provide disaster relief to communities in Nepal.
The money raised by Yarra Valley residents has gone directly to the Women’s Foundation Nepal (WFN) to provide essentials, such as food, water and sanitary product, and to fund recovery projects.
“We’ve had a wonderful response from people,” Ruth Davidson said.
“We have raised $23,000 so far and want to thank all the people and different clubs who have lent their support.”
Mr and Mrs Davidson have worked with WFN for about a decade, and are running the fund-raiser alongside the Rotary Club of Healesville, which has contributed $2000 to the cause.
Mrs Davidson said the response from the community had been outstanding, with individuals and local groups both donating to the cause.
“We had Rotary clubs such as Healesville, Croydon and Wandin donate money and we had the Yarra Glen Men’s Shed donate,” she said.
“We also had quite a few donations from anonymous people.”
WFN provides abused women and children with a safe place to live, medical, psychological and legal help and also teaches skills to assist them with finding fair work.
Though WFN’s offices and production centre in Boudhanath was untouched by the 25 April 7.8 magnitude earthquake, members of the organisation have been killed, injured or made homeless, and the foundation’s organic farm and its livestock in Bhaktapur were destroyed.
When speaking to the Mail in May, Mr Davidson said they were committed to helping communities in Nepal recover from the devastating natural disaster.
“It’s got to be long-term – it’s going to be a number of years for people to get back on their feet,” Mr Davidson said.
In an email update from WFN, president of the organisation, Renu Sharma described how the donations from the Davidsons’ fund-raiser had helped local families.
“We have been able to provide food, blankets, clothes, and sanitary items for 17,000 families,” Ms Sharma said.
“We helped to build 71 schools and we distributed school uniforms for 33,162 students who are studying at public school and they could not go to school because they did not have any clothes to wear.”
Ms Sharma also thanks the Davidsons and all those who donated money to help support the more than 100 women that stay at the shelter.
“We cannot achieve this without your invaluable support … it is really a lot for us,” she said.
“Your support allows us to help so many people.
“We feel relief that we are surrounded by the caring and helpful people like you who have come forward unconditionally to help us.”
The Davidsons want everyone who has donated so far to know that their generosity has been very much appreciated by themselves and by WFN.
“We want to thank everyone for their generosity,” Mrs Davidson said.
The WFN will continue using donations to provide metal roofs for public schools, uniforms, books, notebooks and other necessary materials to students and assisting pregnant women and new mothers.
The Davidsons said if people still wanted to donate, they were still accepting donations.
“There are still problems like landslides and things like that,” Mrs Davidson said.
Donations can be made to the bank account of A.P. and M.R. Davidson, WF Account, BSB 063856, account number 100 796 33, or by calling the Davidsons 0438 730 160.
To donate to the Red Cross’s Nepal Region Earthquake Appeal, visit www.redcross.org.au.
All donations are tax deductable.
