In April 2015 Nepal was struck by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, killing nearly 9,000 people and injuring nearly 22,000. It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 earthquake. Nearly 3.5 million people were left homeless.
As is often the case in the aftermath of natural disasters, vulnerable groups like women and children were targeted for abuse. Child traffickers tried to abduct children who had lost their parents in the quake. The traffickers – often from overseas – came to Nepal to sell children into child labor, forced marriage and sexual slavery. The Guardian reported that police in India “…have uncovered a human trafficking network that has sent hundreds of young women from earthquake-hit areas of Nepal to the Gulf, where they were forced into manual labour and sex work”. The poorest people in Nepal were also targeted by organ traffickers who offered quick cash for people willing to sell their kidneys.
When the news of the earthquake reached the United States, many Dignity Health employees and partners were moved by compassion. They contributed a total of $26,053 to Dignity Health Foundation to help victims of the earthquake.