8 The QUENS Courier • april 30, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com LOCAL NEPALESE COMMUNITIES UNITE TO SUPPORT EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO AND ANTHONY GIUDICE editorial@queenscourier.com @QueensCourier Queens communities have come together to show the victims of this weekend’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal that they are not alone. Members of the Queens Nepalese community and the New York Nepalese Football Club in Jackson Heights have begun a fundraising campaign to collect money that will buy necessary items for families left devastated after the earthquake hit the country on April 25, claiming more than 4,600 lives. “Whenever these things happen, we get together,” said Pralay Rajbhandari, a player and member of the New York Nepalese Football Club. “We are all united for this great cause.” Rajbhandari, who has been living in Jackson Heights for eight years, has his whole family in Nepal and spent hours trying to contact them after the earthquake hit. He was finally able to contact his father and found out that his home in Nepal had partially collapsed and his family is currently staying at a shelter. “It was heartbreaking,” Rajbhandari said. “After I heard the news I was trying to find my family but finally after a few hours I talked to my father. There is panic everywhere and the fear is still there. The whole country is in pain right now.” On April 26, close to a thousand people gathered in Jackson Heights to hold a candlelight vigil and pray for loved ones in Nepal. By the end of the day, $24,000 was collected. “I was surprised. So many people came, so much support,” Rajbhandari said. “It was not only Nepalese people. All people donated generously and the figure is still going up.” Councilman Daniel Dromm also attended the vigil to show his support. “My heart goes out to the thousands of families who have lost someone in the catastrophic earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday,” Dromm said. “On Sunday, I joined many of my constituents in Diversity Plaza as a show of support for the earthquake victims. Many established organizations such as Adhikaar, the Red Cross and UNICEF need our support in the form of cash contributions. This is the best way to help right now.” The organizers of the April 26 vigil are currently still set up at Diversity Plaza, located at 73rd Street and 37th Road, and are accepting monetary donations as well as clothes or other items. The president of the New York Nepalese Football Club, Wangla Lama, traveled to Nepal after the quake and is visiting shelters and writing down what people need. Rajbhandari said that people in Nepal are in dire need of food, water, tents and blankets, and that any kind of donation would help. He also encourages people to donate to the Red Cross. He added that some members of the club have also applied to head to Nepal to volunteer and are just waiting to get the permission to travel. Assemblyman Francisco Moya, who represents parts of Jackson Heights, is also opening his office for any members of Queens’ Nepalese and South Asian communities who are in need of assistance. “To New York’s Nepalese community, I send this message — the family of New York is behind you and we will support you in your time of need,” Moya said. “All of New York mourns with you in this moment of sadness.” A candlelight vigil is expected to be held on Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m. in Times Square. Anyone who is looking to donate or who has any questions on how they can help can contact Rajbhandari at 347- 891-9841. The large Nepalese community in Ridgewood is also lending aid to the victims of the quake. The Nepalese American Youth Association (NAYA) is asking the community to help earthquake victims by donating items needed survivors and those assisting in the relief efforts. On the group’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ n e p a l e s e a m e r i c a n y o u t h , NAYA is asking for donations of medical supplies such as bandages, surgical gloves and masks, ibuprofen and sterile syringes. They are also looking for donations of energy bars, clean clothes, blankets, batteries, flashlights, duct tape and other necessities. Donations are being collected at Nepalese Indian Restaurant, located at 907 Seneca Ave. NAYA has also created a GoFundMe campaign at www. gofundme.com/swh5nhs, where anyone can donate money to support the relief efforts. In just three days, NAYA has collected over $3,000 from 75 donators. As of press time, NAYA was in the process of setting up a vigil in the Ridgewood area for the victims. For more information on donating and the vigil, please contact Bikash Kharel, treasurer and one of the founding members of NAYA, at 718- 581-9840. WHERE TO DONATE BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com/@ aaltamirano28 Following the magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal on April 25, Governor Andrew Cuomo is encouraging New Yorkers to support legitimate organizations providing assistance in relief efforts to victims. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families affected by the devastating Nepal earthquake,” Cuomo said. “As New Yorkers, we help our neighbors in their time of need, whether they are across the street or across the globe. I urge those wishing to help to support the important work of legitimate charities responding to this disaster and be vigilant against opportunists who seek to capitalize on this tragedy.” Cuomo has also provided the following New York-affiliated charities accepting donations for victims of the disaster: American Jewish World Service, www.ajws.org American Nepal Medical Foundation www.americanepalmedicalfoundation.com AmeriCares, www.americares.org CARE, www.care.org Catholic Relief Services, www.crs.org Direct Relief, www.directrelief.org GlobalGiving, www.globalgiving.org Himalyan Health Care, www.himalayan-healthcare.org International Relief Teams, www.irteams.org Joint Distribution Committee, www.jdc.org Operation USA, www.opusa.org Save the Children, www.savethechildren.org Seva Foundation, www.seva.org United States Fund for UNICEF, www.unicefusa.org World Help, www.worldhelp.net Cuomo also added that people should be vigilant when donating money because there are scam artists posing as charitable organizations looking to steal money. Scammers commonly ask for money via telephone calls, mailings, social media posts and emails that lead to fake websites. PHOTOS BY CRISTINA FURLONG Close to a thousand people gathered in Jackson Heights to hold a candlelight vigil and pray for loved ones in Nepal.
QC04302015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above