South Asia Institute Appeals for Donations for Nepal
13 May 2015
Emergency relief and long-term reconstruction
Photo: Rajendra Shakya
After the repeated serious earthquake in Nepal the South Asia Institute (SAI) of Heidelberg University is still urgently appealing for donations for emergency relief. The Association of Friends and Supporters of the SAI has set up its own aid fund, the Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund Heidelberg. The funds will be used initially for humanitarian purposes and, in the long term, for projects to reconstruct the cultural monuments.
Thanks to the appeal following the first devastating earthquake the SAI was able to allocate 40,000 euros from the aid fund for practical assistance. The powerful earthquake on 24 April with its epicentre about 80 kilometres northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, caused a death toll of several thousand and destroyed large parts of Nepal’s infrastructure. On 12 May the country was shaken by another earthquake of 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University has had academic links in Nepal for decades and has run a branch office in Kathmandu since 1987.
