Nepal: Actress Jo Joyner meets earthquake survivors

Photo: CAFOD/Bikash Khadge

Three months on from the devastating earthquake, award-winning actress and CAFOD supporter Jo Joyner is calling for urgent action after visiting communities in Nepal.

Jo, whose work includes No Angels, EastEnders, Ordinary Lies and most recently The Interceptor, went to Nepal to see how people who were severely affected by the earthquake are coping, and how crucial the work of CAFOD and its local partners has been in providing life-saving aid.

The earthquake that struck on 25 April was the most powerful to hit Nepal for more than 80 years. It tore apart the lives of millions of people and destroyed more than 600,000 homes. A second major earthquake on Tuesday 12 May added to the devastation.

Jo is now backing CAFOD's Nepal Earthquake Appeal which has so fair raised £3.3million thanks to generous donations from the Catholic community in England and Wales.

Following her visit, Jo said: "My trip to Nepal with CAFOD was an unforgettable experience. I met such warm and hospitable people who were keen to tell us their stories, despite the raw and painful memories. It was clear to see that the staff and volunteers from CAFOD's local partner Caritas Nepal - and of course the emergency aid they are delivering - are a lifeline to these people.

"Some of the Caritas staff and volunteers lost their own houses during the earthquakes, yet daily, they are literally climbing to reach the remotest of people with the emergency supplies they need to start to rebuild. One lady summed up the work that is being done when she told me: 'The earthquake came and we thought that the gods must be angry with us, then Caritas arrived and we knew that this couldn't be true'.

"Three months may have passed since the first earthquake hit, but it's important that we don't forget the many people who are still in urgent need. Everyone raising funds for CAFOD's emergency appeal can be sure that their efforts will make a huge difference to communities and families like those I met during my trip."

Janet Crossley, CAFOD's Emergency Programme Manager for Nepal, said: "Thanks to the amazing support of the Catholic community, our partners have delivered aid to some of the worst hit and most remote villages across the country.

"The monsoon rains over the next three months will make life tough for hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes. That's why we've been doing all we can to make sure people have shelter, as well as hygiene kits containing soap and water purification tablets, which are crucial for preventing the spread of disease.

"It's challenging to deliver aid during the monsoon, with many roads becoming impassable, but the local teams we work with are hiking up mountains, pushing trucks for miles through mud, and even taking helicopters to reach those most in need."

As a member of the Caritas network of Catholic aid agencies, CAFOD is working with local partners, cooperatives and volunteers to reach some of Nepal's ten worst hit areas. To date, they have reached nearly 300,000 people with humanitarian assistance, including food, emergency shelter materials and hygiene kits.

To donate to CAFOD's Nepal Earthquake Appeal, please visit: www.cafod.org.uk/Nepal