The Nepalese Student Association held a candlelight vigil Sunday in honor of the victims of the earthquake which struck Nepal on April 25.
The vigil included a moment of silence, a performance from South Asian-American a capella group Ektaal and testimonials from students and community members who have been personally impacted by the disaster.
University alumna Asmita Gautam said she was thankful to all the people who attended the vigil.
“Homes destroyed, the loss of thousands of innocent lives, is beyond any words. My heart aches for Nepal,” Gautam said. “Together we will come out of this horrible tragedy, and we will recover one brick at a time.”
Fourth-year Engineering student Sukriti Thapa, who lost a cousin in the earthquake, said the tragedy reminded her how short life is and encouraged attendees to be around their friends and family.
“Even if I live here, all of these sites I’ve been to, they basically define what Nepal is to me,” Thapa said. “I believe with your help and the help of the world, we can rebuild piece by piece.”
Aditi Giri, a resident at the University Hospital, said she has seen support from not only the international Nepalese community but also the Charlottesville and University community.
“Nepal is very small, Nepal is very poor… everything is really kind of going against us,” Giri said. “Nepal really needs help right now. Even the tiniest bit is going to go so far over there.”
The vigil — alongside Noms for Nepal, a fundraising event in collaboration with restaurants on the Corner and downtown which took place Saturday — is one of several events NSA has hosted in support of the earthquake victims.
NSA Vice President Aaku Tamrakar, a second-year College student, said while the organization’s initial reaction was one of shock and sadness, they knew they had to take quick action.
“I think what inspired us was to act, because we knew that Nepal is a poverty stricken country and that they need as many funds as they can [get],” Tamrakar said. “We thought since U.Va. prides itself on self governance, that students could come together, community members could come together and help in some way possible.”
After hearing about the earthquake, Tamrakar said the NSA immediately started to plan fundraising events, including a coffee fundraiser in partnership with the Commerce School.
“After that a lot of people reached out to us and were like we really want something else that is raising more money and bringing in more support,” Tamrakar said. “So we ended up planning a meeting with not only NSA members but also community members who just came out and wanted to plan something.”
Tamrakar said she hoped the two main events — the vigil and Noms for Nepal — would, along with other demonstrations, show solidarity and unity in a trying time.
“In Nepal it’s kind of like an extended family,” Tamrakar said, “your family is your neighbors, your friends, really everyone in the community, and we wanted to do something that would impact the earthquake efforts that are going on in Nepal.”
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