Well, there were 5 of us who had been scheduled to fly to Nepal early this morning, taking tents and cots that had been purchased for the orphanage. However, over the previous several days, we became aware of a great deal of corruption and incompetence as it relates to relief efforts and supplies. Today I saw another report, a news clip from a TV station in Nepal, that clearly shows that thousands of shipments of relief supplies are sitting in and around the cargo warehouse at the Kathmandu airport. In the report one person said that no officials want to take the responsibility for it, nobody has an answer for why it is sitting there undistributed. We were also told that our goods may be confiscated unless they are approved by the government. So, as much as we wanted to go personally, we decided that it would be better to return the items and simply send the funds via bank transfer to the orphanage. People have been very generous in contributing to the orphanage. So, we made a bank transfer and now they will be able to purchase what they need.
Things are constantly changing in Nepal. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, we were good to go. But, after hearing of the corruption from multiple sources, and seeing in vivid detail the photos and video of the rotting relief supplies, we knew it was getting worse. We are still dedicated to assisting the orphanage and I hope to visit them in September after a trip to India.
Thanks for all the support and prayers.