Thame’s namesake village awaits help in devastating earthquake

Image Courtesy of @rqSkye

NEW PICTURE: ONE of the villages devastated in Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal, is the Sherpa village of Thame, the childhood home of Tenzing Norgay, who was (with Sir Edmund Hillary) one of the first men to climb Mt Everest.

A villager in a make-shift shelter, in the Nepalese Sherpa village of Thame

Thame and its neighbouring Thameteng are small Sherpa villages in Namche VDC of the Solukhumbu District in Nepal. These were the last year-round villages on the salt trading route that existed between Tibet, Nepal and India.

Thame.Net has been in contact with a local journalist and trekking guide in Thame, Nepal, who has reported terrible damage to buildings and many injured villagers, including broken bones, although thankfully, no fatalities. Here are some of Shankar Dahal’s and other’s in Thame’s heard-rending tweets:

” Roads to village r linked, but nbdy can walk, bz (because) of rock falling and landslides; roads are unsafe and blocked. No option 4 heli.”

” I am trying my support to the helpless ppl in Thame. They are in critical condition”

annie garneau to @annishky @Dahal_Shankar @editorsonja: ” @ApaSherpa is in namche/thame and needs food water shelter first aid hygiene products, all is burried”

From Apa Sherpa @ApaSherpa: “Thame Nepal very bad. Need food, tents, tarps, sleeping bags. Please donate apasherpafoundation.org help Thame”

Saurav Dhakal @DhakalSaurav: “Village of @ApaSherpa Thame. They have NOTHING! No food or shelter.

A Thame villager in Nepal, in a make-shift shelter outside his ruined home

This facebook entry from Mark Williams, who is stranded in Thame: “The villages of Thame and Upper Thame have been devastated. So far not one relief mission has arrived and all the homes are uninhabitable. It’s now cold, and raining. The local population desperately need better quality temporary shelters and much more help. So far at least seven empty commercial helicopter flights have flown in to the Yeti Mountain Home luxury hotel to evacuate its customers but not one brought anything. ” (The photographs are courtesy of Mark)

Because Thame is so remote, and the Nepalese government is overwhelmed by the disaster, such villages are slow to receive help. Thame.Net is talking to the Nepalese embassy and Oxfam to see if there is anyway the people of Thame in Oxfordshire can directly get help to Thame in Nepal. In the mean time, we are asking that people take donations of either cash or books and DVDs to the Oxfam Bookshop in Thame, for their Nepal disaster appeal, which will help the people of Nepal generally. Also, Marianne Parslow  deputy Bookshop Manager, has said that if people would like to donate blankets to the Oxfam clothes shop in Cornmarket, these will be sold and the money sent to the Nepal Earthquake appeal.

But if you would like to help Thame in Nepal more directly in the meantime, you may donate to the Nepal Earthquake Support Fund which has been set up at the request by the local monastery and nunnery  to provide tents and essentials the Thame area: Visit LINK HERE for details, or visit the Apa Sherpa Foundation blog page and donate there: LINK HERE

Follow the Thamenews.net facebook page  for updates from Thame, Nepal, and Thamenews on twitter @ThameNews