Bulgari is supporting Save the Children’s humanitarian response with €500,000. The goal is to help normalize the lives and living conditions of the children and families affected by the earthquake. Coincidentally, Bulgari and Save the Children have been planning to start in 2016 a new youth empowerment project in Nepal.

Jean-Christophe Babin, Chief Executive Officer of the Bulgari Group believes that Bulgari’s decision to support the humanitarian crisis in the region has been particularly fast and meaningful in its reach and impact. “The earthquake in Nepal has had such devastating consequences,” he says. “We need to do as much as we can, and as quickly as we can. The children and their families are our first priority. Especially in the critical area of nutrition which is the focus of Milano 2015 Universal Exhibition where we already collaborate with Save the Children on this crucial theme.”

A massive earthquake hit Nepal on 25 April. Measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale, the massive earthquake has caused untold damage. Nepal’s government has declared a national emergency. The numbers reveal a heartbreaking picture: 8 million people, including 3.2 million of children and adolescents, live in the affected area; more than 6,800 have died; over 14,000 injured; 320,000 children are homeless. The numbers keep rising.

The destruction of roads, bridges and other infrastructure makes humanitarian access and communication difficult. Despite these logistical difficulties, Save the Children teams arrived on the ground with life-saving aid just hours after the earthquake.

Already, the teams have reached victims with tarpaulins and rope so they can set up temporary shelters. They have distributed baby kits containing items such as warm clothes, blankets and soap to help protect vulnerable infants from the cold nights and limited sanitation. They are also deploying a multi-sector intervention to reach up to 1 million of the most affected people in an effort to respond to the basic needs of children and their families in terms of health, education and protection.

Among Save the Children’s proposed response activities are:

• Working with the local government to ensure children are reunited with separated families, and to set up child-friendly spaces where children can receive psycho-social support.
• Ensuring access to clean water and adequate sanitation, including distribution of hygiene kits.
• Treating malnourished children and support mothers in making sure their babies and young children are getting enough of the right food.
• Setting up temporary learning spaces and rehabilitating damaged schools. Save the Children has worked in Nepal since 1976, though it’s been harnessing its expertise in disaster relief following events like this earthquake for over 90 years. Says Delailah Borja, Save the Children’s Country Director in Nepal, “A week on from the earthquake, the full scale of the devastation is just becoming clear.

Many of these 320,000 children have lost everything – their homes, their warm clothes and, tragically, sometimes their families.

The risk of disease outbreaks and exposure are very real, especially for young children. That is why we are moving fast to get hygiene kits, tarpaulins, and warm children’s sleeping bags out to everyone who needs them.”