TROWBRIDGE-based charity People Against Poverty is urging the public to keep donating towards its Nepal Earthquake Appeal, after passing the £10,000 mark following a huge response to the disaster.

People Against Poverty, which is based at Grangeside Business Centre in Devizes Road, Hilperton, launched the urgent appeal soon after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at the end of April.

The charity works in two areas located either side of the epicentre of the earthquake, Kathmandu and Pokhara, where it helped set up Starlight Centre with project leader Krishna, who lives in Nepal with his wife Sita.

Starlight Centre allows children to come for a weekly communal meal and stay to play and learn basic social skills, which will eventually help them integrate back into society.

Charity manager Jenny James said: “We have just passed the £10,000 mark and we are still getting donations coming in. We want to raise as much as we can to help with the emergency aid.

“We have been partnering with the Starlight Project over in Kathmandu and our project leader Krishna has been sending us pictures of the devastation that the earthquake has caused.

“Some of the photos are horrific and include that of a baby trying to breastfeed from his dead mother, as well as a poignant photo of a couple whose bodies were discovered holding tightly onto each other. 

“Many people over there are forced with the choice of going back into a home that could be unstable or living on the streets and with the rain season coming it is important we get the essentials such as food and tents out there.”

Thanks to the money donated already, People Against Poverty has been able to give 30 large tents to families unable to return home, work with clinics to distribute medicine and distribute 400kg of pulses and 153 packs of rice.

Aftershocks continued to hit Nepal after the earthquake, while on Tuesday a second 7.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in the region, with the charity asking people to continue donating to the cause.

Miss James added: “We have had an amazing response so far and we are hugely grateful to everyone who has donated. We have had overwhelming support from churches, schools and many other organisations.

“Krishna has been in contact since the second earthquake to let us know his family is safe, but there is even more devastation. We want to make sure that all the families we work with have basic access to food and water, so we need the continued support of the public.”

To find out more about People Against Poverty or to donate, visit www.peopleagainstpoverty.com. Alternatively, text GENE09 £(and the donation amount) to 70070 or send cheque or cash to PaP, Grangeside Business Centre, 129 Devizes Rd, Hilperton, Trowbridge, Wilts, BA14 7SZ.