The Bay of Plenty Nepalese Association is fundraising to help its homeland. Chairman Ramesh Gurung and member Lal Pahadur K.C. pictured front. Photo / Rebecca Savory
The Bay of Plenty Nepalese Association is fundraising to help its homeland. Chairman Ramesh Gurung and member Lal Pahadur K.C. pictured front. Photo / Rebecca Savory
The family of 27-year-old Tauranga man Richard Curtis is relieved that he is safe and well after finally hearing from him two days after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake ripped through Nepal.
His mother, Jean Grattan, confirmed that she had heard from her son last night and he and his Australian girlfriend Ali were both "safe and well".
Tauranga man Richard Curtis and his Australian girlfriend Ali are safe and well after the earthquake. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Meanwhile, the Bay of Plenty Nepalese community yesterday shared their fears for their home country, expecting the worst was yet to come.
They watched on, devastated and frustrated as the deadly earthquake tore through their home on Saturday, killing thousands of people, tearing down villages and cities and pulling their long-standing history to the ground.
More than 250 Nepalese people have made Tauranga their home, but their hearts and minds are on the other side of the world this week where their friends and extended families remain among the ruins.
Ramesh Gurung, chairman of the Bay of Plenty Nepalese Association, said most local Nepalese had now heard from their families after an anxious wait since the news broke. A local woman's aunty had been found dead and her mother was still missing, he said, but most families were safe and well.
Their families' homes were damaged or destroyed and most people were now sleeping wherever they could find space on the streets or in tents because of the risk of an aftershock bringing down their houses in the night.
The main emotion now was fear, Mr Gurung said. Fear for what was to come and what would happen when their food and fresh water ran out.
The association agreed the worst was yet to come and the death toll would continue to climb once contact was made with the rural villages and the true scale of the disaster was discovered.
Now was a crucial time for aid to reach some of the more rural areas before food and water ran out and diseases began to spread, he said.
The association said it was disappointed the Government had not managed to reach the rural areas sooner.
Mr Gurung said they had been calling home after every major aftershock, relieved to hear their loved ones' voices at the other end of the line each time.
As well as their homes, some of their most holy sites and temples - which had stood for thousands of years - had crumbled with people inside.
Members of the association came together for an urgent meeting yesterday, hoping to turn their worry into a plan for how they could help.
Getting physical supplies into the land-locked country was too difficult while the airport was only opening for short periods and many of the roads to rural villages were destroyed so the group believed raising funds was more practical.
Young Nepalese men Sujan Shrestha (left), Amrit Karna, Sushil Acharya and Paras Acharya at the Tauranga Central Backpackers, waiting for news from home.
A small group of young Kathmandu men had been living and working in central Tauranga for a number of years.
"We are devastated by what we heard about it," Sushil Acharya said. "I saw everything was destroyed ... All the places we've known from where we have grown up are now just memories."
Their friends and family needed safe shelter, food, water and medical supplies, he said.
