Over the past three months (May to July), Gospel for Asia-supported Compassion Services teams have not only distributed rice, lentils, salt, solar-powered lanterns, tarpaulins and many other needed items to earthquake victims in Nepal, but in July they also gave blood.
On 13 July, students and staff of a Bible college in Nepal joined with a local chapter of the Nepal Red Cross Society to organise a blood drive.
After the first earthquake struck on 25 April, when many victims needed blood transfusions, the blood supply in Kathmandu dropped drastically. Because people were busy rebuilding their lives in the wake of the earthquake, few blood drives had taken place to replenish the supply.
In addition to the Bible college staff and students and Nepal Red Cross Society members, four local nurses and some local residents helped make the event possible. Overall, 45 people – 26 Bible college students and 19 local residents – donated blood.
Love your neighbour
Yashmit, the principal of the Bible college, explained the motivation behind the blood drive by saying: ‘The Lord Jesus has commanded us “Love your neighbours as yourself”. This is our small attempt to obey our Lord Jesus and to love our neighbours through a blood donation programme’.
As en goes to press, scientists are predicting that another earthquake could well hit the area in coming days.
