Nepal Earthquake: Canadian charities help survivors with food, water, shelter

Canadian disaster teams are on the ground in Nepal, helping with relief efforts for the thousands of people left injured and homeless after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit last weekend.

"The big need on the ground is to deal with shelter, food and water," Matthew Colling with the BC/Yukon branch of the Canadian Red Cross told The Early Edition's Elaine Chau.

"It's raining, it's in the middle of the monsoon season, so we're working to make sure we can provide adequate shelter. And of course, people are hungry, and they're in need of clean drinking water. A lot of the resources right now are dedicated to those emergency needs."

Colling said the organization relies on donations from Canadians to do its work.

"Dollars are often needed to help rebuild infrastructure, to help people rebuild their homes, and when you've basically lost that. When you've lost that ability to have a home and a safe place for family, that's where we can help out."

Beyond getting medical help to those injured, the need that affects most people is the need for a home.

"Right now, some of our tents are being used as medical centres in Kathmandu, so people can be receiving medical treatment, as most of the hospitals have been condemned," said Stephanie Christensen with Shelterbox Canada.

"We are also looking at getting shelter kits, which is a tarp and tools into the city as there is not much room for tents, and then providing full tents in the more rural areas."

There are a number of other organizations accepting donations for Nepal. Here are some of the other agencies taking donations from Canadians.

• UNICEF Canada is taking donations to help children and their families affected by the earthquake.
• Médecins Sans Frontières — or Doctors Without Borders — is deploying eight medical teams to the affected area.
• World Vision has rescue teams in Nepal with a focus on shelter, education, water, hygiene, distribution of non-food items as well as child protection. 
• Save the Children has a focus on helping the most vulnerable children in the affected area.
• OXFAM is on site to ensure people in the affected areas have food and water.
• The World Food Programme is taking donations for people in the affected area.
• The Salvation Army has aid workers en route to Nepal to assist other relief efforts.
• Habitat for Humanity will help people with its expertise in home building and community re-building.
• Canadian Medical Assistance Teams mobilized its assistance team to Nepal. It is accepting money and Aeroplan miles.
• CARE Canada has workers on the ground to help with immediate, life-saving needs.
• Plan Canada is helping children and families affected by the disaster.
• SOS Children's Villages is on the ground to help unaccompanied and displaced children and their families.
• Samaritan's Purse has emergency staff and partners on the ground in Nepal.

The Canadian government announced Monday that it will match donations by Canadians to registered charities doing work in Nepal dollar-for-dollar until May 25. The matching will be retroactive to when donations first started streaming in on Saturday.