The recent earthquakes and on-going landslides have devastated Nepal's indigenous Himalayan Buddhist population. In at least six districts virtually all the homes, temples, schools, clinics and historical relics have been destroyed and entire villages have disappeared under landslides. Thousand of people have died. The monsoon rains are about to begin and we expect many more landslides to follow.
The recent earthquakes and on-going landslides have devastated Nepal's indigenous Himalayan Buddhist population. In at least six districts virtually all the homes, temples, schools, clinics and historical relics have been destroyed and entire villages have disappeared under landslides. Thousand of people have died. The monsoon rains are about to begin and we expect many more landslides to follow.
The response by Nepal's monastic community was both spontaneous and rapid. Long before the government responded, monks and nuns were pulling victims from collapsed buildings and using whatever funds were available to buy and distribute food and shelter. After professional search and rescue teams arrived to help in Kathmandu, the monastic community turned its attention to the mountain villages and again were the first to reach survivors and provide aid.
Buddhists worldwide opened their hearts and purses to help provide the monasteries and nunneries with resources to buy and distribute food, shelter, medicine and other critical supplies. Now we are nearing the end of the emergency response phase but we are moving into an even more challenging recovery and reconstruction phase, complicated by the monsoon rains and difficult and dangerous terrain.
Thousands of children have been impacted by the disaster. Most of the children from the mountain communities are now homeless and many are orphans. They are at risk, particularly from child traffickers and must be protected. The NBF already runs schools and hostels and we are ready to step up to the challenge of helping the children. Nepal has a strong tradition of extended families and where possible we will be placing children with surviving family members and providing direct support to the extended families. We, together with our local partners, will monitor the children closely to ensure that they are being well cared for. In cases where there is no extended family, we will bring children to our schools in Kathmandu and also build new schools in the districts so that they can remain close to their communities.
How You Can Help
Support displaced and orphaned children. For $2 per day you can support one child living with his or her extended family, including monitoring by the NBF.
| Annual cost | $730 |
| Support one child living in a hostel and attending school | $1,000 |
| Build a house | $2,000 |
| Rebuild a community temple (Gonpa) | $15,000 |
| Rebuild a school | $15,000 |
| Restore damaged stupas and historical sites | from $1,000 to $10,000 |
Who We Are:
Founded in 2006, the Nepal Buddhist Federation has grown to become the main coordinating body among monasteries and nunneries and between the Buddhist community and the government of Nepal. Our organizational membership includes over 100 monasteries and nunneries from all four schools of Mahayana Buddhism.
NBF Aims and objectives:
To advocate for the rights of Buddhists based on the principle of religious tolerance; to promote, preserve and conserve Buddhist sacred places; promote the religious and historical significance of Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha; promote official government recognition of Buddhist education and obtain government budgetary support for Buddhist education; coordinate with government and non-governmental organizations; help children and other vulnerable individuals regardless of community, ethnic or religious affiliation;
NBF Achievements :
Designed and introduced and obtained Ministry of Education approval for monastic education curriculum and text books for classes 1 to 10 and currently designing material for classes 11 and 12. Soon monastic educational institutions will be able to grant degrees recognized by the Ministry of Education. This is the first time in the history of modern Nepal that Buddhist education has been recognized on the same footing as lay education.
Under the Department of Education we have formed a monastery/vihar management council to co-ordinate monastic education and policies. The government will provide teachers and support.
In 2011 organized Nepal's first International Himalayan Buddhist Conference, held in Lumbini and adopted a resolution strengthening the role of Nepali Buddhists in the future development of Lumbini as well as in relations with the government.
Working with WWF to coordinate Buddhist response to environmental and wildlife issues
Conducting teacher training programs, running hostels and schools for Himalayan youth
How to Contribute
During the earthquake emergency the government banned all non-governmental organizations in Nepal from receiving earthquake relief funds, earmarked as such. Virtually all NGOs oppose this ill-conceived directive and we have been able to side step this restriction by having all funds wired to our general account, for which there are no restrictions. Our finances are fully transparent, audited and published, so donors will be able to examine exactly how funds entrusted to us have been spent.
Nepal Buddhist Federation
Account no : 0210017507097
Nabil Bank Ltd, Kathmandu, Nepal
Swift code : NARBNPKA
NBF