Students Fundraise For Nepal Earthquake Relief

UPDATED: April 29, 2015, at 1:25 p.m.

It was 2 a.m. on Saturday in Cambridge, and Saroj Kandel ‘17 was preparing to go to sleep, when his panicked friend alerted him of an earthquake that had happened in Nepal. It was around noon in Nepal, and Kandel, a Nepalese native, immediately attempted to contact his family.

“I tried calling my parents, friends, and relatives in Nepal, but the network was down. After some time I called them and was fortunately able to reach them,” Kandel said. “My immediate family members are safe, but a lot of the other family members are not safe at this point.”

With reports of death tolls surpassing 4,000, and billions of dollars of damage, Kandel and fellow Nepalese student Pradeep Niroula ’18 created their own fundraising campaign. Together they messaged hundreds of students asking for support and had raised more than $1,500 as of Monday afternoon.

Kandel also emailed professors and Harvard administrators, including University President Drew G. Faust and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana, asking for support in the form of a call to action to the Harvard community.

“Given the extensive alumni network and the enormous resources they have, Harvard is in a unique position to actually help rebuild Nepal,” Kandel said. “Harvard could definitely leverage these enormous resources and change millions of lives worldwide, especially in Nepal.”

Separately, the Harvard US India Initiative began its own fundraising campaign tied to the Nepal Red Cross Society, according to Udai Bothra ’16, president of the Initiative.  Though none of the Initiative’s members are Nepalese, Bothra said the organization still feels close to the cause, given the close bond between Nepal and India.

“It’s really a different country, but at the same time we don’t think of it as a different country,” Bothra said. “We’re neighbors, so it makes sense. The fact that it is so close to us and the tremors were felt in India makes it a good reason to extend a helping hand.”

In addition to raising money, other students have expressed interest in directly volunteering. Meenaski Krishna ’17, who has worked with Nepalese charities for the past five years, plans to travel to Nepal after the semester ends to help on the ground.

“I know some people who have been personally affected because I have been working with these charities,” Krishna said. “I will be helping rebuild and distribute relief supplies.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the name and class year of Udai Bothra ’16.