AS NEPAL CONTINUES to recover from a massive flood in August, U.S. hoteliers are gathering aid to send to the country. The AAHOA Charitable Foundation is organizing the effort to raise funds, donations and volunteers to bring to Nepal in January.
The Aug. 26 flood, triggered by a rock-and-ice avalanche into a Himalayan mountain lake, has so far killed more than 1,400 people with more than 6000 unaccounted for, according to Big News Network. It has left more than 70,000 people homeless.
“It's so sad to see that these lives are just completely washed away, and they had no idea this was happening,” said Lina Patel, director of strategic franchise initiatives for Red Roof and one of the organizers of the ACF efforts. “We took a helicopter there to do a prayer and a puja after three weeks and you cannot tell that there was a civilization there. That whole area is back to its natural state. You cannot even see a pipe or a wire sticking out or anything. Everybody is just buried hundreds of feet under that sand and rock.”
Planning the mission
Patel regularly leads expeditions and pilgrimages in the Himalayas. She is very familiar with the area where the worst of the flood hit.
“That whole valley where villages were, that was the road that connects Nepal to China, and there was a trade route along with the Pilgrims' route, and all these villages thrive based on the trade route and the pilgrims' route,” she said. “Now that route is completely washed away, I believe the government is still deciding on what to do next.”
Fellow AAHOA lifetime members Nayna Patel, Maya Patel and Manisha Patel are serving with Lina as liaisons between ACF and Child Environment Nepal to coordinate delivery of the aid. The women, all of whom have traveled with Lina to Nepal previously, will cover their own travel expenses to visit affected communities, communicate local needs and share updates on approved relief efforts, according to ACF.
Along with cash donations, ACF are collecting staple foods, blankets and essential supplies ahead of winter. It will help fund approved recovery projects, including rebuilding homes and schools, when they go to Nepal in January. They also are looking for volunteers to join them, Lina said.
“Our plan is to go to Nepal sometimes in January to oversee the effort and do a volunteer trip,” Lina said. “We're going to invite whoever would like to come to help us do volunteer there. That way, 100 percent of the funds that are collected goes directly towards the efforts of rebuilding the lives of the families that have lost their members.”
Lina said ACF also reached out to many of the organizations across the country, such as Hindu temples and Leuva Patidar Samaj of USA. They now are collaborating with ACF.
Second mission of mercy
All four women also gathered donations for the construction of a new school in a village hit by a 2015 earthquake that also devastated Nepal. They travelled four times to oversee the project between 2015 and 2018.
“Luckily that school, which is located in this district where the flood happened, it was untouched and it's safe because it was at a much higher ground,” Patel said.
However, the flood completely wiped out a 7-story hotel where Lina and her groups would stay. Moreover, eight members of her team were killed.
“These are experienced climbers, the Sherpas,” Lina said. “There was no time for them to even go above ground.”
In 2025, members of AAHOA gathered aid for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Individuals and organizations interested in supporting the ACF Nepal Relief & Recovery Fund can contribute at https://donorbox.org/acf-nepal-relief-recovery-fund.
