Students from the country's two oldest universities have raised £20,000 for villages in Nepal devastated by the earthquakes last week. 

The money raised will be directed to villages in the Helambu region.

The funds were raised through a Just Giving page set up by Cambridge student Imogen Buxton, among others in the two universities. The idea is to provide emergency relief, and raise money to support the rebuilding of communities across the region.

The fund raised over £1000 in the first hour, while more than £11,000 was raised within forty eight. 

Many of those involved in the campaign, and many of the donors are students who have previously volunteered as teachers in villages in Helambu through the Helambu Education and Livelihood Partnership (HELP) which has a group in Cambridge (CU HELP).

Imogen Buxton, who was a previous president of the group, has stated, "HELP know the region intimately and aren't going to up sticks and leave in a few months after the initial crisis". She adds that "the Nepali team will work for as long as it takes to restore Helambu, and then they will resume their normal efforts to develop educational provision and people's livelihoods". 

It is believed that few buildings are left in the region, and the death toll is high. Kim Sorenson, who volunteered in the area last year through CU HELP assures "the money raised by Oxbridge students has helped to facilitate immediate action by our local charity partner" but he adds that "so much more money is needed to ensure this region can get the shelter, food and access to life-saving medicine that it desperately needs".

The Helambu region is 70km northeast of Kathmandu, and was particularly badly hit due to mountainous topography and its location close to several strong aftershocks. 

The Just Giving page can be found online. 

@VarsityUK