Flagstaff Nonprofit Is Helping the Disadvantaged Around the World

The Flagstaff-based nonprofit, Elevate Nepal, Inc., is helping Nepalese citizens in earthquake-stricken areas of Nepal access resources and rebuild sustainable communities.

Elevate Nepal was founded by Flagstaff locals Anthony Mancini and Dan Maurer out of their desire to help the disadvantaged. Before starting the nonprofit, Mancini was working at the Flagstaff dispensary High Mountain Health helping medical marijuana patients get access to high-quality medicine, and Maurer was spearheading fundraisers and volunteering in various areas.

Mancini said that for years he saw “first hand how beneficial marijuana-derived products can be for a variety of ailments.” But now he wants to focus on helping people and communities that have seen complete devastation, such as many of the villages in Nepal.

Since 2015, the nonprofit has assisted contamination-riddled Nepalese primary schools by renovating sanitation and constructing temporary housing for villages.

Their next project is to help rebuild earthquake-stricken Sarsyu, a village 60 miles north of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. All structures in Sarsyu were destroyed by an earthquake, including the primary school. Most of the village’s youth are currently going to schools in temporary structures and walking 2-3 hours a day to attend classes, or they have discontinued their education altogether due to a lack of proper school building.

Elevate Nepal is hoping to begin construction of a 700-student primary school in Sarsyu starting October of 2018, and is currently fundraising $100,000 to pay for the construction project.

Click here to donate to Elevate Nepal.