University of Hawaii at Manoa students, faculty and staff donated loose change and as much as $50 Wednesday as the Society of Nepalese in Hawaii began raising money and awareness for the tragedy that continues to unfold in Nepal following Saturday’s devastating magnitude-7.8 earthquake.
The UH-Manoa students will return to their table near Starbucks at the Campus Center to seek donations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and will hold a candlelight vigil for earthquake victims outside the Kennedy Theatre at 7 p.m. Thursday.
At Kapiolani Community College, students with KCC’s International Cafe also will raise donations for Nepal disaster relief from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday in front of the cafeteria, where former-KCC-turned-UH-Manoa student Ram Kumar and his wife, Anna Stirr, an assistant professor of Asian studies at UH-Manoa, will play their Nepalese flutes.
While they raise donations, KCC students also will ask students, staff and faculty to sign a Boy’s Day card to send to Nepal.
"It’s a symbol of hope for our children to grow up strong and go against challenges of life," said KCC Japanese-language professor Linda Fujikawa, who works with the International Cafe students on community service projects that have an international focus.
All proceeds from the KCC fundraiser will go to the America Nepal Medical Foundation, Fujikawa said.
The UH-Manoa donations also will go to the American Nepal Medical Foundation, as well as the Real Medicine Foundation, said chemistry graduate student Ram Neupane.
His family in Nepal’s Syangja District, west of the quake’s epicenter, came through the quake unharmed.
The family home, Neupane said, "sustained some damage, but my parents are safe."
"A lot of people are homeless and they don’t have food or water," said Neupane, 33. "Medical supplies are very important at this hour. Any help is really appreciated by the people there."
Because remote areas remain difficult to access, it’s unclear how many people died and how many remain injured and in need of help.
In a statement, UH Nepalese students trying to raise donations said Nepal "has already lost more than 5,000 people, and many thousands are seriously injured and still missing. Famous historical buildings listed in the world heritage site are gone, and there is no exact data about how many houses in cities and villages have turned to rubble. Thousands of people are still living under the open sky without basic necessities such as food, drinking water, tents and medicine."
The Society of Nepalese in Hawaii is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.
Donations can be made online at esneha.org or by attending a fundraising dinner at Himalayan Kitchen in Kaimuki on Sunday, in which the KCC International Cafe is also involved.
Reservations can be made for the period 12:30 to 8 p.m. by calling 285-2628. Details of the dinner are available at facebook.com/NepaleseIn Hawaii.
KCC’s International Cafe is also encouraging donations by:
» Sending a check to: Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund SNEHA, c/o Bank of Hawaii, 3600 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816.
» Donating via Paypal at esneha.org.
» Wiring a deposit to: Bank of Hawaii, Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund, SNEHA, Bank of Hawaii Account No: 0090408046, Routing No.: 121301028
» Donating directly to the America Nepal Medical Foundation via america nepalmedicalfoundation. com/donate.
