Nepal earthquake: Calgary-based group moving children to safety

A former Calgarian living in Nepal and his family back in Calgary are doing their best to keep hundreds of vulnerable children safe after that country was rocked by a massive earthquake.

• Nepal earthquake: complete coverage

As the head of the family's organization, the Kamala Foundation for Women and Children, Zachary Barton has been living in Nepal for the past 10 years.

He runs four centres for vulnerable children, one of them being at the epicentre of the devastation in Katmandu caused by Saturday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

The centre in Katmandu was destroyed, but none of the children wereseriously injured.

The Barton household in Calgary is the headquarters for the Kamala Foundation.

Since the disaster struck, the calls have not stopped, said Amy Barton, Zachary's sister.

She says her brother has been updating the family as often as he can.

"But it's also hard to hear, when his voice cracks, you know.Or when he says, 'I just don't know what to do'.When Zachary always knows what to do," she said.

The top priority is to move the 40 children from Katmandu to another school operated by the foundation in Sankhu, about 16 kilometres to the east.

"We're trying to help him from here as best we canand then try and find a way to get the kids from Katmandu, out of that devastation and disease and lack of water, to the other childrens' home where at least there's open land and safety," she said.