MTU students raise $10,000 for Nepal

HOUGHTON — It’s been more than six weeks since Nepal was rocked by a deadly earthquake, and there’s been a local effort to help the survivors of the tragedy.

More than 8,800 people died after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the heart of Nepal on April 25th. The initial earthquake was followed by numerous aftershocks including one reaching a magnitude of 7.3. 23,000 people were injured and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. A group of Michigan Tech students, led by the Nepalese Student Organization, set out to help.

Dolendra Karki is from the village of Kodari in Nepal. He is working on his PhD in photonics at Michigan Tech.

“We had a disaster and people are affected,” said MTU Nepal Student Organization President Dolendra Karki. “There were many victims back in Nepal, but here we found people were supportive. They were actively participating for this fundraising campaign.” With an internet fundraising campaign through Go Fund Me and a benefit dinner, the group raised more than $10,000.

“Personally, I hadn’t expected that we could raise $10,000 from this small community because we are a small town here but people are so generous here,” said Karki. “They are very helpful. So, $10,000 here, back in Nepal it is almost like $1 million in Nepalese rupees and $1 million is a good amount of money for Nepal.”

That money was sent in last week to the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund. It will likely go to rehabilitation of victims who have lost their homes and loved ones in Nepal.