Last month’s earthquake in Nepal dealt a devastating blow to the small country. Almost 8,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Nepal is thousands of miles away from Wyoming, but emotional aftershocks are being felt in towns like Laramie and Jackson.
In the basement of the University of Wyoming Student Union, a group of Nepali students eats lunch at two tables pulled together – their coffee cups and bowls of panda express are strewn on the grey surface. They are worlds away from where they grew up in Nepal, but nursing student Niru Pokharel says the two aren’t so different.
“We actually don’t miss Nepal because we have the same kind of mountainous region here like in Nepal. Cause we are bonded with the mountainous region and everything so we like Laramie a lot,” she says.
38 students from Nepal are enrolled at UW, making it one of the largest international groups on campus. Most of those students are members of Friends of Nepal of University of Wyoming or FNUW.
The group is used to having dinners together and celebrating cultural or religious festivals. A couple of weeks ago, they were brought together for a different reason. Many of them were woken up in the middle of the night with news of an earthquake. Niru’s husband, Binod Pokahrel, says he immediately tried to call family and friends.
“Most of the cellphones were dead. Landlines were not working,” he says.
No Nepali students lost an immediate family member or friend in the quake. Govind Sah, the group’s president, says since phones were down they have one man to thank for being able to hear that news.
“I must thank Mark Zuckerberg who invented Facebook. That is the only media that we use frequently and at the time when all the cell phones were dead in Nepal, no landlines were working, thank god Facebook was working,” says Sah.
Not only is social media helping these students get in contact with friends and family back in Nepal, it’s also helping them to raise money for their country.
FNUW started an account on gofundmedot.com, and has raised close to $5,000 so far. They also organized a candlelight vigil and hosted a fundraiser at the local Wal-Mart.
Across the state in Jackson, similar efforts are underway. Dave McNally is an artist there, and for years was a climber and guide on Mount Everest, meaning he spent a lot of time in Nepal. The news of the earthquake hit him hard.
“Well, It was a sick feeling, a sad feeling, because I know Nepal fairly well and I just instantly had a picture of what had happened and what it looked like and what was going to happen,” he says.
He has his own go-fund-me account for Nepal, and McNally isn’t the only one in Jackson raising money, either. Nepal native Asa Ghale lives there now and is collecting donations through an account he set up at the Bank of Jackson Hole. Kismet Rugs is donating 10 percent of their May proceeds to the cause. Chabad Lubavitch of Wyoming is raising money as well.
Back in Laramie, the Nepali students have to balance everything going on back home with finishing school here. Govind Sah says he has had a hard time concentrating on his studies after hearing about the earthquake.
“And as you know, this semester is coming to an end. Everyone is struggling with their course materials and exams, so it really affected our grades you know?” says Sah.
Sah and four of his colleagues will be heading to Nepal after the semester is over to help with recovery efforts. Nursing student Niru Pokharel says she can’t wait to get back.
“I’m waiting for my graduation and then I’m going back to Nepal as a rescue team. So I’m waiting for that day to support my people,” she says.
Finals will be over and done with soon, but for Pokharel and other Nepali students, a greater challenge may be yet to come.
Help Support Nepal:
- Friends of Nepal at the University of Wyoming Earthquake GoFundMe
- Dave McNally “A Call To Rebuild Nepal” GoFundMe
- Kismet Rugs, 10% of Sales in May to Support Operation USA
- Reading and Music Event at Night Heron, donations to go here
- Barpak Nepal Relief Fun at the Bank of Jackson Hole. To donate call Asa Ghale at 307-699-7730.
If you want to add your fundraiser, email cballar2@uwyo.edu
