I hope people will reach into their empty pockets and pull out whatever they can."
A Hixson woman with a daughter in Nepal is pleading for Chattanoogans to donate after a deadly earthquake wiped out that country's infrastructure and killed thousands of people.
The death toll hit more than 4,000 by Monday afternoon and continues to rise. More people could be at risk for sickness and death because of disease, said Hedi Lee-Hesse of Hixson.
To donate
The following organizations are accepting donations for Nepal earthquake relief: * Global Giving: globalgiving.org * Habitat for Humanity International: habitat.org * Oxfam: oxfamamerica.org * Catholic Relief Services: crs.org * Doctors Without Borders: donate.doctorswithoutborders.org * Salvation Army: salvationarmyusa.org * Red Cross: redcross.org * United Nations World Food Program: wfp.org * Samaritan's Purse: samaritanspurse.org * Save the Children: savethechildren.org
Read more
* Cook: The spiritual and seismic story of Nepal * Nepal troops ready aid for remote quake-hit villages; death toll rises past 4,400
"They will not survive without international help. They just won't," she said.
Nepal is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world.
Lee-Hesse's daughter, 32-year-old Brianna Murphy, a Chattanooga School for the Arts and Science graduate, was in her fifth-floor apartment in a Kathmandu suburb when the earthquake hit Saturday. She lives there with her boyfriend Andrew Haxby, a University of Michigan doctoral student studying social anthropology in Nepal. Murphy, an artist, is doing an artist-in-residency program at the Art Institute in Kathmandu. She was scheduled to start art classes next week.
She's been communicating with her mother over the Internet.
The earthquake and its aftershock reduced buildings to rubble. Like most people in the country, Murphy and Haxby camped outside to avoid falling buildings.
"My main concerns are food, shelter, water ... and the spread of disease," said Lee-Hesse on Sunday after talking with her daughter. "They're all going to the bathroom outside because there is nowhere else to go. There will be a disease outbreak, so aid is absolutely imperative."
Not even Nepalese drink the water because it makes people sick. Everybody survives on bottled water and that's going to run out, she said.
The majority of the country has no electricity and no running water.
Lee-Hesse wants her daughter to come home, but airports are focused on getting aid into Nepal instead of getting people out. There is no commercial flying, Lee-Hesse said.
Victoria York, owner of Good World Goods in East Brainerd, is hosting a Paint for Nepal fundraiser this weekend.
York is inviting children and donors to paint pictures at her store Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. She will host an auction of the paintings May 9. She hopes to raise at least $1,000, and she will donate the money to an agency where 100 percent of the money goes to assist people in Nepal. York said she's researching agencies before choosing where to send the money.
York carries fair trade goods from Nepal and other countries in her store and wants to help families affected by the earthquake. She also wants to help because people came to her aid when she needed help. Years ago, York's house burned down and an entire community aided her.
"I never forgot that," she said. "I know what it's like to be on the other side. I've lived it."
Lee-Hesse said she's afraid for her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, "but they're smart kids and I know they're going to make good decisions so I'm holding on to that.
"I hope people will reach into their empty pockets and pull out whatever they can," said Lee-Hesse, who donated online to Global Giving.
Meanwhile, a Georgia man is missing after the earthquake.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that 71-year-old Martin Emanuel, a sculptor and former faculty member of the Atlanta College of Art, was on a trekking expedition in the Langtang National Park area, north of Kathmandu, when the quake hit Saturday.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.