Photo of Ned Fiacco in Nepal. (Provided Photos)
The Sunkoshi Valley in Nepal.
The Sunkoshi River Valley in Nepal.
On April 25, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, causing more than 7,000 fatalities. The tragedy made headlines internationally. For some, it may have seemed like an issue far-removed from daily life – Nepal is halfway around the world from Tioga County. But, for one former Owego resident the issue was deeply personal, and so he decided to stand up and do something.
Ned Fiacco, who was a volunteer worker in Nepal from 2002 to 2007, is helping raise relief funds through his church in Idaho. Although today Fiacco is a pastor at the Shiloh Foursquare Church and lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, he grew up in Owego and is an Owego Free Academy graduate.
He fell in love with the country of Nepal during his time volunteering there. Primarily, he did development work, starting various microfinance projects for aspiring Nepalese businesspeople.
He said, “The people of Nepal are extremely warm and hospitable. They have an expression, ‘The guest is god.’ They’re warm and pleasant and caring. As a culture they’re really brave and resilient people so ultimately they’re going to do okay. It’s a paradise of a country when there’s not an earthquake.”
The pastor explained a bit about the country’s terrain: “It’s a mountain country. There’s a strip of jungle at the bottom, but most of the country is hills … and then there’s the mountainous region. That’s where the Tibetan people live.”
Fiacco said that the problems of surviving and recovering from an earthquake in hilly terrain are compounded by other factors: “It’s a third world country, with very poor infrastructure.”
That’s disastrous when it comes to earthquakes. Fiacco said, “One of the problems is that many of the buildings haven’t been built to any code to withstand the shock of a heavy earthquake. For example, [a house] might be built with cement pilings and bricks but no rebar. A lot of the buildings that you see collapsed you’ll see a lack of rebar. In the villages if you ask what rebar is they’d have no idea.” He added, “In the worst area 60 to 90 percent of the homes are flattened.”
In response to all this, Fiacco has been organizing a fundraising effort. So far, he said, he’s been able to get around $1,000 sent over, but he said another $5,000 has already been pledged.
The fundraiser is through the Shiloh Foursquare Church, with help from the Foursquare Foundation. Although the Foursquare Foundation is typically not a disaster-relief organization, in this case they’ve offered to double any donations up to the first $5,000.
Fiacco anticipates that the first $5,000 will go to a rural church he knows in Nepal. “They have,” Fiacco explained, “60 people staying with them right now, living in the courtyard of the church or just outside in the field in tarps and tents.” Sending more funds will help the church continue to provide for these earthquake refugees. After the first $5,000, funds will be donated to reputable locally based relief organizations in Nepal.
Donors get tax deductions because the church is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Even though the money is going to the church, Fiacco was clear that none of it would be kept by the church: “One hundred percent of the money is going right to Nepal.”
Fiacco said that it would be great if people donated a million dollars to his fundraiser – but he was also quite clear that donating to other organizations can be just as helpful. He said, “Do your homework and give to any reputable relief organization in Nepal. Don’t think I’m only trying to get money for my organization.”
Even with help from halfway around the world, there’s still a lot of work to be done in Nepal. Fiacco said, “There’s rescue, and then there’s relief and then there’s rebuilding. The rescue part is almost done and now we need to save lives through relief work. Now we need to focus on relief work and then on to the rebuilding stage.”
Donations can be made online at www.shiloh4square.info/. All monies donated to the church will be sent to Nepal. Ned’s brother, Rick, owns Owego Soft Serve and Village Soft Serve, and donations can be made in person at either of those locations as well.
