Fundraiser for Nepal Sunday - RB Yoga instructor has a personal connection

Richmond Beach Yoga instructor Yvette Sanchez has a personal connection to Nepal. Her sister Lauren landed there 30 minutes before the earthquake.

Join Yvette on Sunday evening, May 3rd from 6:15 to 7:30 for a special class for which all proceeds will be sent to UNICEF to help the children of Nepal. The class will be a special vinyasa-yin-restorative hybrid, with Torrey Kaminski playing her flute during savasana.

Lauren flew in for a wedding and planned to do some trekking there - she is an experienced traveler.

Instead, she explained in an email she was able to send to family here, she landed 30 minutes prior to the quake that knocked her to the ground. Wifi, cell service and ATM's out of service, an avalanche claimed 18 lives on Mt. Everest, many sacred sites toppled to the ground, roads destroyed, homes fell to rubble on the ground, people wandering the streets in despair, children crying. At the time of her email, she was looking for water.

Eventually she made her way to the U.S. Embassy, now a safe haven with food and water enough for at least 3 days. She was told to hold tight. She had been there for two days at the time of her last email.

She reports that it is extremely chaotic as people that are rescued from the mountains and outlying areas are being housed there as well. There are long lines to use telephones and computers, crying babies, panicked travelers as well as the general nervousness in the air. The aftershocks died down so she and friends decided to venture out of the embassy compound.

She described what she saw in detail- historic temples in piles of rubble, thousands of people living on the street, everywhere Nepalese people walking around in shock. She came across a little girl sitting on the curb crying so, stopped and sat down next to her. Lauren pulled out some paper from her backpack and made an origami animal for the young child- soon there were over twenty little ones all gathered around and so Lauren made little figures for all of them and sat playing with the group for quite a while.

Lauren is planning to stay and do what she can to help. And her sister Yvette, who says "We are all right where we need to be," is doing her part to raise funds.