Welcome message from nepal received back home in mayo
A Newport woman, who has worked tirelessly on behalf of deprived children in Nepal over the past 16 years, luckily survived the weekend earthquake but has been living outdoors in a tent since, writes Tom Shiel.
Trish Ginnelly sent a text message to her friend, Aisling Neary in Castlebar, over the weekend telling her that she and her daughter are safe.
“We’re okay but it’s been a terrifying few days,” Ms. Ginnelly revealed. “The after shocks are frightening. We’ve been sleeping out since Saturday in a tent in a field.”
Trish Ginnelly has been practically living full time in the south Asian mountain nation since 1998 when she first visited and was touched by the plight of hordes of children who were literally living on the street. She helped them find shelter and food and then – after realising a longer lasting solution had to be found – founded SATHI Nepal, a non-profit organisation. In Nepalese, SATHI means ‘friend’.
Ms. Ginnelly, who lives in the United States for 10 months of the year, raises money by purchasing crafts from native aristans in Nepal and selling them in the US.
News of the charity champion’s wellbeing after a disaster which claimed thousands of lives has come as a relief to family and friends in west Mayo.
Aisling Neary, who returned home to Castlebar from a three-month trip to Nepal in February, spoke of her relief that Trish and her daughter were safe but did express concern for the safety of other Irish charity workers there.
“It’s very difficult to get any information,” Aisling explained. “It’s very difficult to make any contact because the computer and phone links operate only very intermittently, if at all.”
Aisling did get news that the Little Angels home for street children in the village of Talamarang, about three hours journey from Katmandu, had been damaged by the quake which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale. However, none of the occupants of the home have been killed or seriously injured. “That’s the important thing, that the children are safe,” she said.
The home is close to Aisling’s heart. She raised more than €10,000 for the project through various fundraising ventures, most of them in her native Mayo.