@Reddit Gives Dollars and Upvotes for #NepalQuake Relief

Redditors raised more than $250,000 for two non-profits in Nepal after a powerful earthquake rocked the Himalayan country.

Photo Credit: Amrit Sharma.

Popular social news website, reddit, stepped up to help Nepal, the Himalayan country, devastated by the recent earthquake. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, 2015, where thousands of people lost their lives, centuries-old historic monuments turned to dust, and millions more were affected.

On their blog, reddit called on “all redditors to help Nepal earthquake victims.”

reddit researched many non-profits and eventually selected MAP International and Direct Relief because they contribute 99% of their donations to relief on the ground.

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Alexis Ohanian on Twitter

Co-Founder of reddit, Alexis Ohanian

Reddit user nepaligirl thanked the Reddit community:

“As a Nepali, I just wanted to say thank you so much. From the bottom of my heart. It is so nice to see everybody being so supportive and coming together to help us. We really truly appreciate it.”

This isn’t the first time reddit has galvanized it’s passionate users to help an earthquake-struck country. In 2010, reddit raised more than $185,000 for Haiti’s earthquake relief efforts.

In Nepal, thanks to $145,000 from reddit’s donations, Direct Relief has:

• Worked with Nepal’s Ministry of Health on ordering US$260,000 worth of materials
• Delivered 118,771 lbs of medical supplies to Nepal
• Provided emergency airlifts to help deliver high-volume, high-value materials

…and, with $110,000+ from reddit, MAP International has:

• Shipped 30 medical mission packs to Nepal, which are capable of treating 6,000+ people.
• Ship 6 pallets of oral rehydration salts to combat dehydration

T-shirt: Redditors for Nepal

Redditor, YoungLuck, designed a custom t-shirt, and it was available for purchase at redditorsfornepal.com. All profits were split 50/50 between Direct Relief and MAP International. Redditors bought more than 1,000 shirts by the May 19th deadline.

Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of reddit

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Alexis Ohanian on Twitter

This isn’t the first time reddit’s co-founder Alexis Ohanian has tried to “make the world suck less”. In 2009, Alexis gave an entertaining TED talk called “how to make a splash in social media” about how reddit and the internet helped Green Peace raise awareness about the threat to whales in the waters around Japan.

Would You Rather Fight a 100 Duck-Sized Horses, or a Horse-Sized Duck?

Earthquake relief in Nepal is like fighting a 100 duck-sized horses because the problem in each village is not particularly difficult to address. You show up, listen, bring food, tarps, water and then follow up a week later. The problem is logistics and accessibility because there are hundreds of villages that have been flattened by the earthquake.

Right now, earthquake relief in Nepal is like fighting a 100 duck-sized horses, but when monsoon starts in 2 weeks, these 100 duck-sized horses will grow wings and become 100 duck-sized Pegasuses.

The unrelenting monsoon rains will start by mid-June, and the next wave of challenges will strike Nepal in the form of swollen rivers, washed out roads, inaccessible villages, landslides, and much more.

These challenges will cut off hundreds of villages from Kathmandu and other supply routes, making accessibility and logistics in disaster stricken Nepal even more difficult.

The monsoon rains combined with lack of proper sanitation will bring a swath of water borne diseases, like diarrhea and potentially, cholera.

The ground isn’t shaking violently, the rubble has been swept up, and the Nepal earthquake isn’t on the front page of newspapers anymore, but with monsoon around the corner relief aid organizations are in a race against the clock to prevent a major humanitarian crisis in Nepal.

Thank you reddit. Love, Nepal.

You are making a real difference in Nepal. See you around on the front page.