Valley
FillTheBucket drive ‘gains momentum’
FillTheBucket, a social media campaign to collect relief items for flood and landslide victims, is set to dispatch its first set of 150 buckets to Far-Western region on Wednesday.The distribution will be made through the Association of St Mary’s Alumnae Nepal and Nepal Army Wives’ Association in coordination with Nepal Red Cross Society.
The organisers, who aim to distribute at least 300 buckets by Friday, said they will initially distribute the buckets to flood victims in Bardiya district and then, following ground analysis, extend the effort to other affected areas of the region. The campaign, inspired by the recent global viral phenomenon called ALS Ice bucket challenge, is aimed at helping victims of recent floods in the country. According to government records, as many as 88 people died in floods and landlsides in Bardi, Banke, Surkhet and Dang districts alone and hundreds of families have been displaced.
The campaign, meanwhile, has started gaining momentum in Pokhara and Biratnagar, the campaigners said.
The cost of filling a bucket could range anywhere from Rs 1,000 to 1,500. The items in the bucket include 2-3 kilograms of rice, 1 kilogram of lentils, 5-10 packets of instant noodles, bottled water, small bottles of water purifier, chocolate bars, soap bar, sanitary pads with drop off locations around the Valley.
The hashtag which first appeared on twitter on August 24 has been mentioned and shared widely over Facebook and Twitter. Organisers said they are expecting to exceed the target of 300 buckets by Friday.