Kirk raises £200,000 for rebuilding homes in Nepal

CHURCH of Scotland congregations have raised £200,000 for a campaign helping rebuild communities in Nepal after the devastating earthquake of 2015 which left more than 700,000 people homeless.

Church of Scotland raises funds to rebuild homes in Nepal. Picture: Contributed

From selling the bricks on a cardboard house and building makeshift shelters and sleeping in them, to more traditional fundraisers such as Polwarth’s Grand Canal High Tea, congregations across the country gave generously to support the the Let us Build a House campaign.

Iain Cunningham, convener of the World Mission Council praised church members across Scotland for their generous response to the appeal.

He said: “The response from Presbyteries, congregations and individuals to ‘Let us build a house’ has been truly staggering.

“There have been many creative fund raising activities taking place up and down the land and we want to thank everyone for their efforts and for recognising the immense need of people in Nepal at this time.”

Joel Hafvenstein, executive director of United Mission to Nepal, the Kirk’s partner in the region, thanked everyone who donated.

He said: “We are very, very grateful for the money that has been raised as well as for all of your prayers.

“It’s tremendous and it means a lot to us. We want to use it to build homes for the poorest of Nepal’s homeless people and we are looking forward to putting this money to use.

“Through our 62 year history of service in Nepal, the Church of Scotland has been a faithful partner and it is your help that is making it possible to transform lives for people who have lost everything.”

Joel and his wife Fiona and their sons Caleb, 5, and Isaac, 2, have only been in Nepal since December 2015.

But they felt at home almost immediately because both Joel and Fiona had parents who worked for UMN and grew up in the country. They returned at a time of continuing crisis.

More than 8,000 people across Nepal were killed in the devastating quake and a further 22,000 were injured.

Roads, schools, hospitals, water and electricity plants were destroyed, affecting more than eight million of the country’s 31.5 million people.

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