On the 25th April a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, causing widespread devastation to a country that will struggle to respond. Thame, Oxfordshire has a namesake in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal and we decided, as a community, that we should lend our support to our fellow Thame. Our council have sent a letter to Nepal, introducing ourselves - and we have already received a reply.

We have committed to help rebuild a community that has lost around 80% of it's buildings; most of the people living in the Valley have lost their homes and the school was terribly damaged. Children are continuing to go to classes, but these are being held either outside or under tarpaulins. Many people are homeless and sleeping in tents.

Over the summer Thame, Oxfordshire will be hosting a series of events to raise money for the rebuilding efforts which are being coordinated by The Himalayan Trust UK. We will also be going into schools to help promote a long-term relationship with a community in one of the most challenging, but beautiful places on earth. Our overall target is £30,000 and it's hoped that this page might raise a third of it.

For more information about our two communities, or to read the correspondence between the Thames, go to www.wordsfromthesnowline.co.uk where there is also a list of upcoming events.

Dig deep! We'll make sure that we keep everyone updated with progress and news from Nepal, and we'll try to keep Nepal updated with news from the UK end.