Workers at the Norton Bridge rail development have raised more than £2,000 towards the rebuilding of a school in earthquake-hit Nepal.
Two workers have friends and family affected by the Nepal earthquake. The Staffordshire Alliance workers, who are building a rail flyover junction at Norton Bridge as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan, held collections and organised a car wash accompanied by music to raise £2,144.
The workforce decided to help after learning that two of their colleagues, Hom Gurung and Harka Jang Gurung, were from Nepal, and had friends and relatives affected by the earthquake. A lunchtime lecture was held to explain the situation in Nepal and workers also donated money to attend a curry prepared by former Ghurka Hom.
The cheque was presented to actor and charity supporter Paul McGann, famous for his roles in Luther and cult film Withnail And I, at a Unite For Nepal event at Liverpool John Moores University on 19th October.
The money will go towards a school being rebuilt in Nepal by the Help Nepal Network in Sindhupulchowck, the area most affected by the earthquake which struck in April, killing 9,000 people and injuring tens of thousands.
Hom said he had been motivated to do something after being stopped by a man in Stafford town centre who asked if he was a Ghurka and gave him £10.
“He trusted me, and his act of kindness inspired me,” Hom explained. “When I returned to the site, we got to work to see the ways we could help. My friends have been very generous and we have collected far more than we first expected.”
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]Network Rail is delivering £250m of investment in the Stafford Area Improvements Programme. The final phase of the programme is the new rail over rail flyover at Norton Bridge, which will be completed for Easter 2016. The work is being delivered by the Staffordshire Alliance – a partnership of Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, Network Rail and VolkerRail[/box]
