Couple host Nepal fundraiser after relatives' homes destroyed

A couple whose relatives survived the deadly floods in Nepal last month are planning to fundraise for victims of the disaster with a donated clothes sale.

Megan and Bikrant Maharjan tied the knot last year in Trishuli Bazar, one of the towns devastated by the floods unleashed by an avalanche of rock and ice on the Nepal-Tibet border.

About 1,400 people have died in the disaster and 6,150 people remain missing, according to official data.

Megan, director of Ashridge Manor Garden Centre in Wokingham where the sale will be held on Sunday, said: "We've been absolutely overwhelmed by the support we've had from our communities around us."

Bikrant said his family survived after police issued a 30-minute warning to head for higher ground on 26 August before their home, the local school and several businesses were all washed away.

For the past few weeks, the couple have been asking their community in Wokingham for clothes and donations to send to Nepal.

After trying to send over an "overwhelming" 500kg of clothes, Bikrant said they realised it was "actually much cheaper to buy clothes there, so we are trying to raise funds by selling the clothes here".

Megan said: "We felt a very big responsibility ourselves to want to help.

"Bik said these people are a very special part of our lives but it is their wider community as well.

"To see anyone going through [it], you can't even comprehend it."

Thanks to donations gathered via a GoFundMe page, the pair said they have so far supported 15 families, including Bikrant's uncle, who is currently in temporary accommodation.

While their initial goal was to provide emergency funds, they said "the government has done a really good job of making sure people are catered for".

The Maharjans said they hope any money raised through the sale on Sunday will help people in Nepal buy clothing before temperatures drop from next month.

Bikrant said while the basic needs of the people in his home town were being met, he would like to "send presents to kids who lost everything".

"Out of such a terrible situation it is really amazing to see how people have just come together... whether that's money or the clothes for this sale and Ashridge Garden Centre has been super supportive," he said.