NMSU offers help for students affected by earthquake in Nepal
New Mexico State University’s International Student & Scholar Services office and the NMSU Nepalese Student Association are offering assistance for students and families affected by the recent earthquake in Nepal.
The magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25 . More than 4,000 people have been killed and at least 7,000 people were injured in the quake and the resulting aftershocks. Durga Prasad Sapkota, the father of NMSU doctoral student Rishi Sapkota, was one of those killed. Rishi Sapkota’s mother, Khina Devi Sapkota, was critically injured.
Students who may have been affected by the devastating earthquake can receive counseling assistance from the NMSU Counseling Center in Room 100 of the Garcia Annex. Students in need of immediate help can also contact the Crisis Assistance Listening Line of Southern New Mexico at 575-646-2255 .
To help those in need of emergency relief funds, donors have a choice of giving to the Red Cross at www.redcross.org , Oxfam at www.oxfam.org , or Sarvodaya USA at www.sarvodayausa.org . Those wishing to give directly to the NMSU Nepalese Student Association, which has about 30 members, can visit their website at http://web.nmsu.edu/~nesa . NESA students will also collect donations outside of Corbett Center throughout the week.
Funds collected by NESA will go toward rescue and treatment efforts for quake victims.
“The reason why the Nepalese Student Association had to take a lead in this matter is because for 10 years this has been the only organization for Nepali community here in New Mexico and West Texas,” said NESA secretary Gaurav Thapa. “In this hour of need, we feel it is integral that we show a united front of solidarity for all the Nepali people here. We also feel this is the best way to send help to as broad a community in Nepal. We are looking into working together with students from (the University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at El Paso) and vetting through a dozen nonprofit organizations to make sure the money doesn’t go towards people’s salaries, travel expenses and administrative costs, but goes directly towards the relief effort, which is going to be a process that is going to last several years.”
Source: New Mexico State University
