Kyley Blomquist fell in love with Nepal the first time she visited the mountainous Asian nation.
Late last week the country was struck by a devastating earthquake that measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, killing more than 4,350.
In her heart, the Thunder Bay clothing designer knew she had to do something.
In a little more than two days the Elfarrow Clothing owner managed to help raise more than $7,260 through a Go Fund Me campaign, Blomquist’s response to help her overseas business partner and co-worker provide food and water to their factory workers and nearby residents displaced by the disaster.
She’s overwhelmed by the public’s reaction and willingness to chip in.
“It’s amazing. It blows my mind and I relay that to (Nepal) every time I talk to them. It’s their hope and it’s saying everyone is with you here,” Blomquist said on Monday.
“I can hear it in their voice. They are so scared. The ground is shaking. They can’t move and it won’t go away. They’re alone in that situation and everybody in Kathmandu – they’re all together, those who are surviving – they’re alone there.”
The money she’s collecting, both online and at Elfarrow, her Algoma Street store, will be put to good use. Foreign aid money is slow to flow and people need help as soon as humanly possible.
“I’m happy to be able to say that we’re doing this right now. We’re going to get help, especially in that area,” she said.
Her factory was largely untouched in the earthquake and although it took several days to round up all the workers, everyone appears to be unharmed, Blomquist said.
Luckily, because of power issues in the past, the company has its own way of producing electricity.
“This generator is everything now,” she said.
The goal is to build on the two kitchens in the factory, used by the company’s printing and stitching staff to eat while working.
“Basically they’ve broken the big group – the last count was 189 I think – into five groups so they’ve been using the pots and the cookware, feeding this group and this group,” she said.
“My goal right now is to send the money over we have right now to feed the people and continue on with whatever’s going on, but make a more solid station in Nai Bazar where we can get some bigger pots and make more of a communal kitchen and bring in some more water tanks.”
Blomquist said they had filled a pair of tanks with 1,500 gallons of water just prior to the earthquake striking, but that water has already been used.
“They’re empty now,” she said.
“We’ve been OK for water, but now it’s an issue.”
While she set the initial $5,000 goal, Blomquist said every extra dollar counts, with some estimating more than $5 billion in damage. She's also taking donations at her Algoma Street store.
