DENVER — A Colorado nonprofit organization is helping supply doctors on the front lines of the earthquake recovery in Nepal. But Project C.U.R.E. is looking for help mobilizing the effort.
As the death toll in Nepal climbs above 5,000 people, with many more suffering severe injuries, Project C.U.R.E. is busy collecting, sorting and packing surplus medical supplies in order to help equip disaster teams.
Project C.U.R.E. is well-equipped to respond to such disasters. For years, the nonprofit has collected medical supplies all over the country and sent them to third world countries in need.
Now, as rescue teams rush to get to the earthquake in Nepal, Project C.U.R.E. is looking for volunteers inside its warehouse, so that emergency responders don’t arrive empty handed.
Julie King is the director of kit programs for Project C.U.R.E. She says doctors in Nepal have been emailing every morning, letting them know what conditions are like on the ground.
“It is so catastrophic that some districts have lost 95 percent of houses to the ground,” King said, reading from an email. “And most people on the hillside are buried in the rubble.”
“You can’t help but feel so helpless here and so sorry for those people,” said Kitty Comstock, a volunteer who helps sort medical supplies inside the Project C.U.R.E. warehouse.
In addition to the daily updates, the doctors have also been requesting medical supplies, which is what makes the volunteers so important. “These are the essentials,” said Julie King as she showed off one of the C.U.R.E. kits. “Ace bandages. Laceration kits.”
C.U.R.E. kits pack about $2,000 dollars worth of basic supplies into a 50-pound bag that’s small enough to take on an airplane.
Chris Williamson picked up two of the kits on Wednesday, before the trained disaster volunteer boarded a plane to Nepal.
Project C.U.R.E. will eventually also send several huge shipping containers of larger supplies to help rebuild and retool hospitals in Nepal, but those items will have to wait.
“It’s 60-90 days for an ocean freight container to get from Denver to Nepal on the best day,” said Project C.U.R.E. CEO Douglas Jackson. “Right now, the difficulty is that, just yesterday, they had to turn away a C-17 military plane because of the aftershocks.”
Which is why sometimes big disasters … demand lots of little contributions.
“You feel like you’re really helping and if they can get these things to them fast enough, when they need it, it is really worthwhile,” Kitty said.
Project C.U.R.E. welcomes volunteers Monday through Saturday. They are also looking for donations. A $200 donation will cover the out-of-pocket expense for each C.U.R.E. kit.
For more information on how to volunteer or donate click here.