• While Sherpa returns home to help his family and others after tragic earthquakes, co-worker starts GoFundMe page to lend a hand •
As Danu Sherpa spoke on the other end of the phone line from Kathmandu, Nepal, his voice wavered. His emotions were taking over.
On Tuesday, Sherpa said he was looking around at the city and the crippled buildings that were rocked and leveled by a pair of mammoth earthquakes in the last month.
The 44-year-old City of Redmond employee paused and noted: “I was lucky to survive.”
Sherpa’s voice trailed off when he mentioned that his family’s house was destroyed in one of the tremblors. His sister, his niece and two orphan children were killed and two others were injured.
“For awhile, I was very devastated and depressed,” said Sherpa, who added that he’s dealing with his emotions by helping others.
Sherpa returned to his home country about three weeks ago to help in the relief efforts for his large family and residents whose homes were destroyed by the quakes and are in need of shelter, water, food, clothing, blankets and more. He has helped set up tents not far from the rubble for people to try and get some much-needed rest.
It was during a visit to a government office to ask for aid when the massive 7.3-magnitude aftershock struck on May 12. Sherpa was inside the building when it partially collapsed, and the experience lingers with him each day while he attends to others’ needs. (The first quake — 7.8 magnitude — hit on April 25 and there was a 6.7-magnitude aftershock on April 26. To date, more than 8,000 people have been killed and more than 21,000 have been injured, according to various news reports.)
“It’s a very devastating situation right now. It’s hard to leave. There’s so much to do,” said Sherpa, who plans to stay in Nepal for another month or so. “I’m trying to do my best. I’m trying to get people back to a comfortable living situation before I leave.”
He said people are scared as smaller-scale quakes (3.5- and 4.5-magnitude) hit the city each day.
To give Sherpa a hand on his mission to assist his family and others in Nepal, Eric O’Neal — who has worked with Sherpa in the City of Redmond’s Parks Department for about 15 years — started a GoFundMe page just over three weeks ago that has generated $13,800 in funds from 145 people at press time. O’Neal has sent nearly all of the funds, via two sizable money transfers, to Sherpa. (To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/dollarsfordanu.)
O’Neal noted on the page that Sherpa is one of the good guys who comes to work with a smile on his face and is a hard worker.
“He’s part of our work family. We’re a tight-knit group,” O’Neal told the Reporter. “I wanted to do something for my co-worker.”
O’Neal added that people have defined Sherpa as “selfless” and “compassionate,” and for many years he’s sent money back to Nepal to help children with their education. Once, a former co-worker had a severe water leak in her home and Sherpa fixed it for free.
Along with relocating his family, O’Neal said that Sherpa is working on constructing a safe shelter for some of the children who are being “discharged” from the hospitals because of inadequate accommodations.
Today, Sherpa will depart for the Solukhumbu district east of Kathmandu with three men to assist people in a small village that was the epicenter of the aftershock and was completely destroyed. He said there may be bodies under the rubble and he’s not sure what his crew will find there.
According to O’Neal, Sherpa said it will take three days to get to the village (where another sister, her husband and family live): one day by bus and two days of trekking.
Sherpa, who was born in Taplejung, has lived in Redmond for 19 years. He noted that the Redmond Ready training he received has pushed him along to not only aid others, but himself.
“I want to thank my Redmond co-workers. Everyone is working so hard to get this funding for me and helping me,” said Sherpa, who praised O’Neal for starting the funding page.
