We are Katie & the Team from MAP International working on the ground with Nepal earthquake relief providing medical aide. AUA

Everything being reported to the USA seems to imply a great deal of frustration for the local government; however, NPR seems to stress the difficulties people are having trying to even get into cities to offer help. Reports say some locations are inaccessible and are having to have water and food rations air lifted. Is this what you find to be true? Do you see areas their government could improve on during this crisis? And, what do you want us in the rest of the world to know that maybe we aren't being told?

From Kipp: Nepal is a small country with a small international airport. The world is trying to respond as quickly as possible. Some areas are very rural and hard to get too. Things are backlogging getting goods in as one of our first shipment got delayed for 24 hours. Things will start improving quickly so aid can get in.

How so you think this will effect the population as far as disease control? Or other illnesses due to limited resources and medical care (and space)?

From Kipp: Mobile medical teams are working hard to reach the hardest hit areas so personally I think the teams will get a pretty good handle on what they are able to get to as it relates to disease control.

Is there any way for someone in Nepal to assist you? I'm a 19 year old Nepali who has been helping in hospitals for the past few days. If there is anything I can do, do let me know. And also thank you very much for doing everything you all are doing. The help we have received from people, organizations, and countries all over the world has been amazing! Thank you. :)

This is great! thank you for all you're doing! I would suggest reaching out to our partner https://careers.internationalmedicalcorps.org/volunteer.html they are on the ground using MAP medicines and would be great to volunteer with!

Hi there! What you guys are doing is amazing. What's the best way for people at home to get involved in helping?

Thank you! Donations are always needed, but so is your vocal support! Please share our tweet and facebook posts and you can start your own fundraising campaign for MAP's relief efforts on www.crowdrise.com - Katie

As a follow up to /u/mightyshenron's question, are care packages accepted?

I'm thinking basic medical supplies, dry food, etc

We focus on life saving medical supplies. We are unable to facilitate shipments of individual care packages. -Dan

Can you give me a first-hand perspective on what it's like over there?

From Kipp: A 22 month old baby was dug out of the rubble still alive today. Spirits are lifted with any positive news. The Nepal people are strong and will overcome this tragedy.

Hey this is Christina! We have pictures from our partner IMC (International Medical Corps) who is on the ground right now. http://imgur.com/gallery/g7vt3/new

They will be receiving an IEHK (Interagency Emergency Health Kit) form MAP, being airlifted in tomorrow. It will treat 10,000 people for 90 days and the reddit donors have really helped with this! 4 more of these IEHK are being prepared now! - Katie

Have you dealt with any Sherpas yet?

Hi, this is Dan. Our partner organization, ACTS World Relief, delivered our first shipment of medical supplies ($330k worth!) yesterday. We are unsure if they have got to work with any Sherpa yet. :)

First of all, a big thank you and bless you to MAP for being active in this quake relief. My question- What other districts apart from the three in Kathmandu valley has MAP been providing medical aid? And how helpful has the local government officials been to your cause?

From Kipp: Our partners on the ground are doing rapid needs assessments to all affected areas they can reach but we know damage has been reported in almost every district. Government is receptive to aid and help.

What type of assistance does MAP provide?

Medical supplies like antibiotics, advil, Tylenol, vitamins, a lot of pharmaceuticals. from Kipp

Has working on the ground in Nepal changed your perspective on live? If so, could you share how?

It does change your perspective. I have seen disasters now all over the world and it is an eye opener for sure. Haiti, Philippines, and now Nepal. People's struggles hurt your heart. From Kipp

First, I want to say thank you all for your kind help and support! Q. How helpful is the administration and government there right now? How are you guys managing? I read that the government proved itself a total fail.

Thanks for the kind words. So far, we have been able to deliver $330k in life saving medical supplies, with more on the way! We are working with the government health officials through the Logistics Cluster and have had no problems with them. - Dan

What can us citizens do? I'm in highschool and I do not have a solid income source, so I can't donate on my oww, but is there anything I can do?

You can share our messages on social media and raise social awareness. We need a lot of that right now. You could start a fundraiser at your school and run it on www.crowdrise.com to raise funding to Nepal :)

Hello there! I've always wondered about this. When disaster strikes, are there any organizations that specialize in offering spiritual care/emotional support to the victims?

From Kipp: There are many groups that focus on spiritual care and emotional support. I have been in meetings in the past 5 days with like minded organizations that send teams over to focus in these areas. Great question. Thank you.

Can you rank this earthquake's aftermath on a scale of 1-10? How does it compare to Haiti?

Is cholera an issue there? Do the pharma companies donate their medicines for cholera outbreaks?

Thanks

No cholera reports yet. Loss of life was greater in Haiti. Nepal is harder to get to logistically than Haiti. Hard to rate because these are different regions of the world so based on loss of life Haiti was worse at this point.

Kipp: We have Oral Rehydration Salts on the way to combat potential Cholera outbreak.

Last response was from Kipp

How is China helping (or not)?

China is responding based on what I am reading from Kipp - Dan

I know many people participating in the attempt to improve the Open Street Map in the region post-quake, is this a tool actually being used by humanitarian relief groups?

Currently, we are not using the Open Street MAP, but we have hopes that this is going to be a very good tool in the relief efforts. - Katie

Hey this is Christina! I am not familiar with Open Street Map other than its a way people can donate their time and help locate landmarks in disaster areas to help aid workers navigate the area. But it seems like a great idea!

Thanks for the responses, is there any other time donation tool that more directly helps your effort?

One way we keep overhead low is that we have volunteers come in and help pack our Medical Mission Packs, or maybe a do few chores around the office. If you are ever in the Brunswick, Georgia area stop on by!

But if you are not close I would see if there is a local need for volunteers to help with Nepal. Maybe the Red Cross will need people to answer the phones?

Hi I really appreciate your efforts. I am in India and had felt those tremors and my heart goes out for all those who suffered in this disaster. I and many of my friends are also currently helping NGO's and Indian Government's teams who are helping out people in Nepal. Can you please tell me any kind of support you may need which we can convey to our government agencies and NGO's?

We heard the tremors were felt in India, terrible. At this point we, and most of our partners really need cash donations to be able to provide additional relief. We also need people to spread the word and not let this terrible disaster fall out of the attention of the media.

Yes there were casualties in India too. I can definitely try my level best to spread out for donations to you people.

Thank you so much for all you're doing.

This disaster has hit close to home because my parents, aunt and uncle were right in the middle of things when this happened. Thankfully after a 2-3-day ordeal, they managed to return home safe. (All the places they visited last week have now collapsed.)

So, thank you to all of you who are doing this. And my feelings go out to those people who've suffered as a result of this earthquake (especially knowing that Nepal is such a small country that depends on tourism as its mainstay).

My wife and I donated via Facebook, but now that we know of the links in this thread, we will do more.

My questions:
What are the most common medical issues that arise from such events?
What have you seen there that has broken your heart more than anything?

Wow that's terrible but so wonderful to hear that they are all safe! Thank you!

Cholera, dehydration and infections. Luckily no cholera reports yet.

To watch a country be devastated by a natural disaster is always difficult, but right now it's inspiring how people are joining together to help the people of Nepal. - Katie

Hey I have a few questions, I actually just donated to Direct Relief and I was wondering how much collaboration there is between all of the charity organizations when you are working on the same situation or in the same area?

Also for each of you as individuals; how did you get into working for MAP International or charity organizations in general? And is the best way to volunteer for organizations with the hope of getting a full time job after time put in?

Hi this is Christina! When I was in college I knew I wanted to help people all around the world. So I double majored in Spanish and International Studies.
My advice is if you find a place you really want to work apply for all the jobs, even if they are above your experience level. You will catch the eye of some one up top who might have a better place for you in a position that is not posted yet. Also send a hand written thank you note after all of your interviews to all the people who interviewed you.

TLDR: Apply to all the jobs! Send thank you notes.

Yes! Thank you notes are a must! -Katie

I asked this above too but how about for people with degrees not quite directly related to NGO work? I'm just curious what kind of positions are available or I guess what variety of positions NGO's have.

NGO's have everything from communications jobs to public health jobs. It really just depends on the NGO and remember sometimes you may have to start low and work your way up to where you want to be. Here are two of the best NGO job boards http://www.devnetjobs.org/ http://www.interaction.org/about/job-openings-interaction

Everything MAP does is through partnerships, it's our backbone. So we work hand in hand with our partners on the ground. Like minded organizations work very well together.

For me, I have a BA in World Religion and Journalism and went to college with the desire to do good in the world. It takes some time to get a job in the NGO realm, but it's worth the wait and the lower salary. Best way to find volunteer opportunities is https://www.volunteermatch.org/

That's good to hear. How about for people's who degrees are quite aimed at the NGO world?

Do NGO's typically take varying specialties or really aim for people with degrees most directly relevant?

NGO's need everyone with all different types of backgrounds. My religion degree isn't always relevant :) but NGO's really need useful skills and people willing to do more than just one job. - katie

Charity Navigator rates Map International as one of the most efficient charity foundations in the world, which is why I donated to this effort. With an endowment of over $300 million for FY2013 (and assuming this value stays relatively consistent year after year), how do you determine the portion of relief aid for each disaster?

You mention that $330k is has been sent so far. Is this amount directly related to the recent donations specifically for this disaster? Do you pull from a greater pool of funds to provide relief? How much do you intend/expect on providing for this effort?

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4042#.VUJEziFVhBc

Good question. Yes, this number stays pretty consistent. Relief aid for each disaster depends on the size of the disaster and the partners that MAP has that are requesting medicines and supplies. Right now we have some great partners on the ground telling us exactly what they need. MAP works with donated medicines as well as purchased medicines to ensure that the items that are most needed reach those in need. So far an IEHK (Interagency Emergency Health Kit) is on the way and will be delivered to Nepal tomorrow, this will treat 10,000 people for 90 days. 3 more of those are being prepared now. $330k of medicines and supplies left MAP on Tuesday and landed on Wednesday in Nepal with one of our partners and had enough medicines and supplies to treat 6,000.

Have the teams on the ground moved from a rescue phase to a body recovery phase or do people still hold hope for others being found alive in the rubble?

Based on the Haiti earthquake, recovery teams have now learned that people can survive longer than expected in these situations. So teams are still performing rescue while at the same time trying to move into recovery. People are still holding out hope.

What do you fear the most in few weeks from now?

Monsoon season is coming in the next few weeks and we are afraid this will hinder the relief efforts.

And how's the government's support been so far for your organization? And how do you compare the situation compared to Haiti?

Nepal is harder to get to logistically than Haiti. Hard to rate because these are different regions of the world so based on loss of life Haiti was worse at this point. Under the circumstances in Nepal, the government is doing as well as can be expected. - Katie & Kipp

Thanks for doing a great job in Nepal. Kudos to you guys and god bless.

thanks sumit270

The MAP Team is still here, what do you want to know?

Thank you guys for providing help in Nepal and also thank you for the AMA. I have two questions.

1. Who are your partners in Nepal and where are they operating - is it working in and around Kathmandu right now or are you spreading out to remote areas too?

2. As I understand, you are providing medical aids. Is that the area you focus on or are you also working on other supports like food, shelter etc?

Thank you again for being there and providing assistance.

We are a medical aid organization, but we have other partners that are on the ground providing food and shelter items. - Katie

We are working closely with International Medical Corps (IMC). We have enough meds in route for IMC to treat 60,000 people for up to 3 months. We are also working with ACTS World Relief by providing our medical mission packs. More shipments are being planned with additional partners. -Kipp

What do you do in free time?

Have you ever tried cannabis?

Where is your favorite place to travel

Hey this is Christina! In my free time I sleep, eat, and maybe watch a little TV. :) On the weekends I like to go to Jacksonville, FL or Savannah, GA, they are super close to us!

Cannabis stunts your growth, don't do drugs kids (unless you have a medical need).

My favorite place I have traveled to was Spain for my last month of university. I have not had a chance to travel with MAP yet.

That's awesome! I spent the first ten years of my life in Jacksonville! I live in Athens Ga now.

If you are ever in the Brunswick area you should stop by and help pack some Medical Mission Packs! -Christina

This week we don't have much free time :) Anywhere with mountains! - katie

From Kipp. Free time watch sports and do crossfit when I can. Favorite travel: Central America for MAP work.

Hi, it's Dan. In my free time...what free time? We love traveling to our country offices around the world to follow up on the life saving projects which our donors make possible.

Ask us anything you'd like. What else would you like to know from the MAP International team?

Hi Katie, I run a charitable adult website that's raised over $25,000 for charity in just 4 months. We're doing a Nepal campaign now, with 100% of proceeds going to charity. We raised over $3,000 yesterday alone, and as it so happens we are doing an AMA right now too.

My question is - Would you consider letting us raise funds on your behalf? Is your cause more important than finding a more fashionable source of (entirely legal...) funding?

We get turned down by charities. A lot. Is MAP different?

I would love to talk and check with our CEO and see if there is a possibility. You can email me at [email protected] And thank you for all you're doing to help the people of Nepal.