It’s one thing to explain to young children about the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Nepal. It’s another if Nepal is a place a child has visited. For 8-year-old Isabella George, who travelled there in November of 2013, the news has left her with a deeper understanding of how the tragedy has impacted people she knows.
“We were actually going to India for a wedding. As we were planning the trip, we decided to make it a two-week trip and all three of us wanted to go to Nepal,” explained Isabella’s mom, Karin.
Isabella’s dad, Sean, had previous contact with Rescue Humanity, a relief organization that works in Nepal. Through that, he’d become familiar with an orphanage called Rainbow House supported by Rescue Humanity, and they decided to visit during the three days they spent in Katmandu.
“We spoke with the children, and heard their stories. We asked if we could get them anything, something that they needed the most, and they said a bicycle. So while we were there we bought them two bicycles and gave them to the orphanage,” Karin explains.
She says that Isabella remembers being there and has talked about the visit in the year and a half since they returned. So when the earthquake happened, Karin wasn’t sure how to tell her daughter what had happened.
“I waited a bit, and then told her there had been an earthquake, and her first words were, ‘I hope the children at the orphanage are okay.’ We got an email saying that all the children were okay, but they were sleeping outside because they were afraid of the aftershocks. They had no electricity and the building is damaged. She said she wanted to send them money,” Karin recalls.
Even though Isabella doesn’t realize the full scope of what happened in Nepal, her mom says it’s still relatable.”The fact that it was children and that we visited, it makes it way more real, than just hearing there was an earthquake in a faraway country. The fact that we’ve been there, that she played with the children, that this happened to them, and they have to sleep outside with no electricity, it’s very real for her.”
Isabella decided she wanted to help. She has chosen to raise money selling yarn bracelets which she makes with a machine called a loop-de-doo. Any money that she makes she says she’ll send to the orphanage. While she has already raised about $300 just by selling bracelets through word of mouth, she’ll be outside of Wilton’s Village Market from 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 selling bracelets.
“She’s a busy little girl right now making bracelets,” Karin says, who adds that it takes Isabella about five minutes to make each bracelet.
Even though she also likes to dance ballet, do gymnastics and ride horses, Isabella is dedicated to this project right now. She knows simply and clearly what she’s doing: “I heard about the news, it made me sad. The money you give me I will give to Nepal and help the orphanage.”
Isabella will be selling the bracelets for suggested donations of $5-$10, or anything more that anyone would like to donate toward her efforts. She’ll be in front of Village Market on Saturday, May 2 from 3-5 p.m..