Earthquake: Shangrila Orphanage and Others Destroyed in Nepal

Nepal's earthquake has left about 80 residents of Shangrila orphanage in Kathmandu without a home.

Wim De Becker, the head of the orphanage, told NBC News the building is condemned and must be demolished.

"We are alive and we all have our health," he said. "We can't ask for much more than that."

The residents, ranging in age from 1 to the late teens, put their practice drills to work during Saturday’s earthquake, congregating in a field behind the orphanage.

"They were really brave," De Becker told NBC.

They have been camping out in a monastery courtyard. Some of the children have living relatives, whose care they have been able to return to, but about 60 remain without a place to live.

"Most of them think it's a lovely camping trip," De Becker added.

Shangrila orphanage isn’t the only children’s home struggling after the earthquake. The disaster flattened half of Rising Lotus Children's Village about 30 minutes northwest of Kathmandu.

The 35 children of that orphanage have been accounted for and are safe. Founder Tracy Brandt of Orlando, Florida, told WKMG-TV she hopes to raise money to rebuild the orphanage, and has pledged a portion of the proceeds from her store, Got Karma?, to the orphanage.

All 46 children at Balika Peace Home east of Kathmandu were unharmed in the earthquake, but are now homeless, The Vancouver Sun reported.

Vancouver student Emilie Teichroeb who was teaching dance at the orphanage when the earthquake struck is planning a fundraising campaign to help rebuild the orphanage.

Tom Velie, president of New Beginnings Adoption Agency in Tupelo, Mississippi, hadn’t gotten word about the welfare of 10 children living at an orphanage founded by his organization in Kathmandu, The Clarion Ledger reported on Monday. He was talking to the director Saturday when the call was cut off, and he hasn’t been about to make contact since then.

"All I heard before we were cut off is that everyone is safe in the home," Velie said. "I presume that the communication system or their power system are out because it's saying their phones are off."

Twenty-six children living at YETI Orphanage in the village of Chitwan also were unharmed in the earthquake, The Indianapolis Star reported. That orphanage is standing strong and not in need of earthquake relief.

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