On Saturday, 28 September 2024, my former au pair Astar, aged 25 and currently living in Kathmandu, Nepal, with her parents, wrote to me as follows:

Good evening, Sabine.

I really have some bad news. Today, once again, nature played an unexpected role. We almost lost our lives today because of a huge flood. Thanks to God and the police, they rescued us just in time. But we saw lots of people losing their lives. We are physically okay, but our house was covered in water, so everything in the house is now useless. We don’t even have our personal documents. 

This is us. We were close to death.

And our senior pastor’s wife lost her life in a landslide. So we are mentally and emotionally unstable at the moment. Please pray for us. I’m not sure I can continue my B2 course now. I don’t know what will happen next.

Today, three days later, I have decided to support her in this way.

Regarding the state of the house: all the electrical appliances are broken, as are the sofa, the beds, the wardrobe and the clothes. Of course, the house is damp and covered in mud. They cannot live there for the foreseeable future. Astar and her family are looking for a room to rent. That is not easy. At the moment, she is staying at her pastor’s house (whose wife has died). She is traumatised and exhausted.

I know that Austrians, Germans and many other Europeans have also had to contend with flooding recently. The situation is catastrophic here too, and many people are suffering the consequences.

So, of course, I understand if you prefer to make a donation elsewhere.

Nevertheless, helping her is a particular priority for me. Let me explain:

Astar was part of our family here in Styria for a year. She was not only a welcome and valued member within our family circle. Through her kind, selfless, honest and helpful nature, she made many friends; she was quickly integrated into the local church community and, thanks to her good language skills and her keen interest in people, nature and local culture, she became a valued member of the community. She wanted to stay here and start training as a carer. But due to the strict regulations, she returned to her home country, Nepal, after her au pair year.

If you would like to donate, no matter how large or small the amount, it will help her regain the mental strength to carry on and not give up. She needs to continue with the language course so that she can begin her nursing training in Germany in March 2025. And that is so important right now. Let’s show her that we are here for her, that we support her. Thank you for your donation!

If you don’t wish to donate, you can also choose to offer emotional support: write her some encouraging words, show her that she is not alone.

Thank you very much for your time.

Warm regards,

Sabine