Burns Violence Survivors and accident victims in Nepal need our support.

Thirty years ago I lived in Pakistan where I employed a beautiful young woman as a Nanny to my baby. Two months after I returned to New Zealand, I received a letter telling me that she had died as a result of burns violence. She and her husband had argued. He doused her in kerosene and she apparently accidentally' fell against the heater and died seven days later from her extensive burns. I was horrified, shocked and paralyzed as there was nothing I could do. Twenty five years later, I found myself at a fundraiser for burns violence survivors in Nepal and just knew I had to assist.

Attached is a photo of 28 years old Asha from a remote area in far western Nepal. Her story is common among survivors of burns violence. She and her husband worked as subsistence labourers. In late 2019, Asha was cooking fish curry in the kitchen, when her husband arrived home and started arguing with her. He was blind drunk and dipped her face into the boiling fish curry resulting in severe burns. Her husband poured cold water over her face and applied aloe vera. She screamed for help and attracted the attention of her neighbour who took her to the nearby health post where she received first-aid. She was eventually transferred to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu. BVS Nepal has been supporting her. She has now been discharged from hospital. Her husband has left the area and the Police are searching for him.