Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Mountains of Relief has raised just over $20,000 to replace unsafe traditional cook stoves for families living in Nepal鈥檚 mid-hill region.
The Win Wine, Save Lives campaign came to a close with the donors' draw occurring on Jan. 30 at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives, with museum manager Rob Hubick and archivist Karen Byers as witnesses to the draw.
Glenn Schlieman from Jasper won the first prize draw for 100 bottles of premium wine.
Meanwhile, Tania and David from North Vancouver won the second draw for 25 bottles, and Stacey Taylor from Prince George won the third draw for 10 bottles.
鈥淵our generous support will make a world of difference to the Nepalese families whose health and quality of life will be immeasurably improved the moment they receive your gift of an improved cook stove,鈥� organizers stated.
The new stoves are expected to have greater efficiency, better combustion and less smoke.
They will also reduce carbon emissions and the need to cut down trees for fuel in Nepal.
According to the World Health Organization, 4.3 million deaths were attributable to household air pollution in 2012.
In Nepal, around 77 per cent of the population relies on biomass fuels, mostly wood, for cooking and heating.
Co-founders Raj Ghimire and Sherrill Meropoulis began Mountains of Relief in 2015 and has worked with field support to help those living in Nepal, such as by building a school for 120 students, among other achievements.
