When the world feels too big- Nepal and our response.

by Anna Spoore September 04, 2026

It has been just over a week since the devastating disaster in Nepal on August 26.

To be honest, I have been slow to write about it.

Not because I don't care. Quite the opposite.

Nepal holds a very special place in my heart. These are people I have sat with, shared meals with, laughed with and built friendships and trading partnerships with over many years. I love this country and its people dearly.

But I've been busy. I've been running around doing markets, filling orders and doing all the normal things involved in running Uplift. Customers have stopped me in the shop and said to me, "Isn't what's happening in Nepal just horrible?" And I've said yes, of course it is.

But if I'm truthful, I don't think I had really allowed it to hit my heart.

Perhaps part of that was because it simply felt too enormous.

When we hear about thousands of people dead or missing, entire communities devastated, homes and farmland destroyed, families searching for loved ones, overcrowded shelters, damaged infrastructure and people struggling to access clean water and medical care, what on earth are we supposed to do with that from Australia?

Sometimes it feels easier not to look too closely.

But over the past few days, I have been speaking directly with our Fair Trade partners in Nepal.

And suddenly, its become very real.

Messages from our Fair Trade partners

I reached out to our partners with two questions: Are you safe? And what can we do?

Thankfully, the artisans within our partner organizations are safe. But the disaster has reached deeply into their families, villages and communities.

Our friends at KTS in the Kathmandu Valley, who make our beautiful hand knitted jumpers and knitwear, told us that none of their artisans are from the directly affected areas.

But their response wasn't simply relief that they were safe.

Together, their staff and artisans have decided to donate one to two days of their own salaries to support people affected by the disaster.

When I saw that, it really effected my heart.

These are the very artisans whose products we sell in our shop. And because they have dignified employment and an income through Fair Trade, they are now in a position to turn around and help somebody else!! Amazing!

Our partners at Mahaguthi are doing the same. They are raising funds through their members and the wider Fair Trade community in Nepal, while also preparing practical supplies such as blankets and clothing to send to affected areas.

And then came a message from Empowering Local Women.

All the women on their team are safe, but many of the villages where the women and their families live have been heavily affected.

Two of women artisans have lost their homes. ( devastating!) 

And one of the women's husbands was trekking with a large group when the flooding occurred. At the time they wrote to me, the group was still missing.

Even , however, while trying to comprehend what had happened, they spoke not only of the people affected, but of the animals, birds, wildlife and natural environment that have also been lost, the grief for all life lost is present and felt. 

And amongst all of this, I asked about an order we currently have with them. They responded.

Yes, we can still do your order.

Because that order is work. Work is income. And right now, income provides stability for the women, their families and the communities around them.

This is Fair Trade in action

Something has become clear to me through all these conversations.

Our Fair Trade partners are responding with kindness ,compassion and action. 

They are donating their own wages. They are collecting money. They are gathering blankets and clothing. They are supporting colleagues who have lost homes and loved ones.

And that is perhaps one of the best examples I have ever seen of why the Fair Trade community matters. Fair Trade is so much more charity!!

It is about creating strong, resilient communities where people have dignified work, fair income, skills, relationships and the ability to make decisions about what their own communities need.

When you purchase a jumper made by KTS or something handmade by the women at Empowering Local Women, that purchase hasn't suddenly become meaningful because a disaster has happened.

It was already meaningful.

We're simply seeing the ripple effect now.

A Fair Trade wage helps someone feed their family and send their children to school. It provides security and independence.

And then, when disaster strikes, that same person may be able to give a day's wage to help someone who has lost everything.

That's the kind of development I believe in.

The children I can't stop thinking about

There is another part of this disaster that has been weighing particularly heavily on my heart.

The children.

In the chaos following a disaster of this scale, children can become separated from parents, relatives and the communities that normally protect them.

For children already living in poverty or vulnerable circumstances, that separation can leave them particularly exposed to exploitation and trafficking.

And we know this isn't simply a theoretical concern.

Following Nepal's devastating 2015 earthquake, Nepal's National Human Rights Commission reported that the number of women and children intercepted because they were considered vulnerable to trafficking increased by around 15% in the three months following the earthquake.

That history is very much on my mind now.

And it's why one particular organization we work with is so important to me right now.

CHILDREN-Nepal

CHILDREN-Nepal is our Fair Trade partner in Pokhara, but their work goes far beyond the beautiful Fair Trade toys they make.

They have been working alongside vulnerable children and families for more than 30 years, particularly children, young people, women and families experiencing poverty and disadvantage.

They aren't an organization arriving in Nepal because a disaster has happened.

They are already there.

They know these communities. They know the families. And sadly, they have told me that friends and people personally known to their organization have lost their lives.

CHILDREN-Nepal has now launched its own Flood Disaster Emergency Relief & Recovery Support Appeal.

Their immediate response will provide practical necessities including food, temporary shelter, blankets, sleeping materials, hygiene and dignity kits, baby supplies, clothing, cooking equipment, water containers and solar lighting.

They will give particular attention to children, women, older people, people with disabilities and families who have lost their homes, belongings or livelihoods.

But there is something else about their response that I really want people to understand.

They are already planning about what happens after the emergency.

They want to help children return to school by providing uniforms, school bags, stationery and other supplies.

They want to help damaged schools get classrooms operating again.

And they want to help families restore their livelihoods so that, rather than remaining dependent on aid, they can once again support themselves with dignity.

There was one sentence in their appeal that struck me:

"Recovery is more than rebuilding homes."

It is also about helping children return to school, helping families restore their livelihoods and giving communities the opportunity to rebuild their lives with hope and dignity.

So, what can we actually do?

When something this enormous happens on the other side of the world, it's easy to feel helpless.

I think that's partly why it took me more than a week to really allow myself to process what had happened.

But after speaking with our partners, I don't feel quite so helpless anymore.

They have given us two very clear things we can do.

1. Buy Fair Trade from Nepal

This message has come through repeatedly from our partners:

Keep buying our products.

Emergency aid is incredibly important right now, but people also need something much longer lasting work.

They need orders next month.

They need income six months from now.

And they will still need sustainable livelihoods long after this disaster has disappeared from our news.

If you've been thinking about purchasing something from one of our Nepalese Fair Trade partners, now is a particularly meaningful time to do so.

Every order we place helps keep work and income flowing.

And, as we're witnessing right now, that income doesn't stop with one artisan. It strengthens families and communities and gives people the ability to support one another when crisis comes.

2. Support CHILDREN-Nepal directly

For those who would like to give directly to the immediate relief and longer-term recovery, this is where I would personally love to direct the Uplift community.

We know CHILDREN-Nepal.

We have a relationship with them.

And I trust the work they have been doing alongside vulnerable children and families for decades.

Uplift isn't a charity, so we won't be collecting donations ourselves. Instead, CHILDREN-Nepal has provided us with the information needed for people to donate directly to their Flood Disaster Emergency Relief & Recovery Support Appeal in Nepal.

We'll provide those details for anyone who would like to contribute. just email us at info@upliftfairtrade.com.au

Your donation can help provide immediate relief today while also helping children return to school and families rebuild their livelihoods tomorrow.

We don't have to fix everything

Maybe this is the thing I have needed to remind myself this week.

We don't have to fix what happened in Nepal.

We don't have to carry the enormity of everything that has happened.

But we can stand beside people we know and trust who are already doing the work.

We can support CHILDREN-Nepal as they care for vulnerable children and families.

And we can keep buying from Nepal's Fair Trade organizations, providing the dignified, sustainable income that allows people to rebuild their own lives and strengthen their own communities.

Thank you for standing with our friends in Nepal.

And thank you for continuing to choose Fair Trade ,not only when disaster strikes, but every day.

With love and gratitude,

Anna
Uplift Fair Trade

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