I am writing to make a request for relief efforts coordination in the earthquake affected areas of my home country Nepal. At 06:11 UTC on April 25, 2015, a M 7.8 earthquake hit between two major cities in Nepal and has claimed the lives of more than 1500 people thus far. This number is expected to rise as more bodies are being pulled from the rubble. Even as I write this, my family and friends are feeling tremors of aftershock that has left them terrified.

Nepal's infrastructure--political, economic, or otherwise--is not prepared to pull off a rescue mission at a scale that is necessary during this disaster. Coordination of national and international rescue efforts is crucial to curbing the death toll. On behalf of my people, I request that the international community do more than send donations or political speeches over the internet. People who are on the ground need to be trained, equipped, mobilized and encouraged.

Nepal neither commands Western corporations' mineral interests nor serves much strategic political purpose. Nonetheless, my people have the right to be protected, supported, and rescued from this horror. As a citizen of the world, I want to believe we have learned something from the devastation of Haiti and the terror of Ebola. I want to believe we are one people. And we will not let our brothers stand alone.

[My request is to the head of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Valerie Amos; to Partners in Health co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer; and to the President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama--to make this a priority.]

By signing this petition, you will help expedite the relief process and help save more lives from being lost.