It’s easy to forget about the earthquake devastation in Nepal as the news headlines about the disaster fade away. But the stark reality is that back-to-back powerful quakes on April 25 and May 12 killed at least 8,622 people in the mountainous, impoverished country.

Former Whitefish residents Jerry and Judy Golphenee know all too well how the natural disaster ravaged villages and left so many in need of basic humanitarian care as the monsoon season threatens to further exacerbate a grim situation. The couple have operated Children of Kathmandu since the late 1990s, providing schooling, health care and shelter for children in Nepal.

The nonprofit Children of Kathmandu organization has committed to raising money to rebuild a remote village near Kathmandu that was completely destroyed by the earthquake. The Golphenees are leading an effort to supply makeshift housing — tents of heavy plastic — so villagers can survive the monsoon season. They hope to begin building basic, two-room homes this fall to provide housing for at least two families per small dwelling before winter sets in.

You can help them meet their goal. Donate online at www.childrenofkathmandu.org, or send a check to the nonprofit’s Bozeman office at 3801 Spruce Meadow Drive, Bozeman, MT 59718-1937.

Gateway center needs help

And in the spirit of giving, the Gateway Community Center is embarking on a fundraising campaign to be able to purchase the portion of the former Gateway West Mall that houses a number of local nonprofit organizations that do important service work in our communities.

American Capital Management has put 100,643 square feet of the mall building up for auction. An online auction planned for May 19 has been postponed until June 15, which will give the Gateway Community Center more time to work toward its goal of buying the mall space either before or during the auction. The auction has a minimum $600,000 bid.

Details of the fundraising campaign will be rolled out next week, so stay tuned to learn about how you can help preserve this space for so many organizations that go the distance every day to improve our quality of life here in the Flathead.