Dear Friends,
As most of you must be aware Sikkim was rocked with a massive earthquake on the 18th of September, leaving more than 150 people dead and several hundred more homeless. Most of the damage has taken place in the North Sikkim area of Mangan, Chungthan and the reserve area of Dzongu which is home to the indigenous Lepcha community. We have been working with some of the villages in Dzongu since the past two years, promoting the culture of this ‘Hidden Paradise’.Two villages in Dzongu have been completely wiped out due to landslides and many other villages have been rendered inaccessible. The army is doing their best to rescue as many people as they can, but a lot of assistance is still required in this distressed area.
Some of the NGOs, led by ECOSS (Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Sikkim), have made a combined workforce to support the relief work in Dzongu. A relief camp has been set up in Lingzya village to provide any kind of assistance that the local people would require. A good deal of funding is required to support the good work being done by the NGOs over there. So it is my humble request to all of you to help these needy people by making generous monitory donations .I have worked very closely with ECOSS and the other NGOs so least assured the money would be optimally used for relief work.
For those who would like to donate, you can do so by transferring money directly in the account details mentioned below:
A/c name: Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim
A/c no: 112010100117012
Bank: Axis Bank
Branch: Gantok
IFSC: UTIB0000112
If you want a receipt for the amount donated, please let me know you name, amount and postal address so that I can promptly send the same.
A good anthropologist friend of mine , who has been researching on the Lepcha community in Dzongu for many years, has founded an NGO ‘Sikkim Earthquake Relief’ in her home country ofSwitzerland. So for all foreign national , wanting to contribute can do so in the below account:
Account No: 45-82171-8
IBAN: CH0509000000450821718
BIC: POFICHBEXXX
Swiss Post – PostFinance
Nordring 8
CH-3030 Bern
NGO-Address:
Sikkim Earthquake Relief
c/o Daniel Schaffner
Birseckstrasse 39
CH-4127 Birsfelden
Switzerland
Alternatively you can pay directly via PayPal http://www.
For those who would like any more information please feel free to get in touch with me. And please don’t forget to pass on this message to all your friends.
Regards,
Piran
+91 9930002412
