September 20, 2011  from Shirley Blair, Director of SMD Boarding School, Kathmandu, Nepal
Dear friends,
On September 18th, a 6.9 earthquake hit Kathmandu. Although there were some fatalities in the Kathmandu Valley, all of Thrangu Rinpoche’s nuns, monks and lay children were unhurt, and the building sustained no visible damage. At SMD Boarding School, thanks to years of emergency drills, the buildings were evacuated smoothly. The children spent the night in the monsoon rain sleeping on the soccer pitch and basketball court and the smaller children slept in the garage. Chaynga Sherpa B021 (assistant to SMD Director) reported,

“ As soon as it happened, everyone gathered in the soccer field including our school principal Lama Sangye Tsering, managers, health workers,hostel teachers, seniors, support staff, volunteers, and all the students. The little kids were very scared but I think our joint efforts from the principal, hostel teachers, seniors and senior students made them feel safe. We said prayers together in the soccer field. We ate dinner outside the buildings. Eventually, it started raining so little kids from the annexe building slept in the garage which we found the most safe place. We brought tables from dining hall and thick mats and arranged it like bed in the garage. Intermediate students slept in front of the shrine hall and senior students slept in their own rooms. (Our Gardener) Dawa Norbu made hot milk tea for all which everybody enjoyed at the moment when we were feeling cold. Lama Sangye was there till the midnight. Seniors didn't sleep in the Seniors’ flat. All the Seniors were guarding the kids.”  

SEE MORE of needs of the school and the risks of earthquake in Kathmandu on the PDF