April 29, 2015
Nepalese students’ plea for assistance
Nepalese Students’ Association band together after the Himalayan nation is rocked by devastating earthquake.
President of the Nepalese Students’ Association, Sunita Shrestha, at the stall outside the University Library.
Imagine the whole of Wollongong’s population displaced from their homes and you start to grapple with the sheer magnitude of the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake.
The latest stark statistics from the ravaged country reveal more than 5,000 deaths, 10,000 injured and about 454,000 people displaced from their homes.
In light of this disaster, UOW’s Nepalese Students’ Association is rallying to help those in dire need back in their home country.
UOW has 167 Nepalese students and their representative association has today (29 April) set up a stall outside the University Library appealing for cash, food, medicine and sleeping materials.
Association President Sunita Shrestha said the association planned to personally deliver much of the cash and in-kind gifts it receives. Other gifts would be transported back to Nepal.
Sunita said that many people including her mother, father and teenage brother in the capital Kathmandu were living in fear of further aftershocks.
She said her family was currently living outside their home in an open field.
The final year Bachelor of International Studies student said luckily her family home was safe but a lot of other people have lost their homes and were running out of food and water.
Sunita thanked the University for its overall assistance during this crisis in Nepal. UOW is providing students with as much support as they require through its professional counselling services and Student Support Advisors.
The stall set up outside the Library will only be in place on 29 and 30 April. However, Sunita said anyone wishing to make a donation could email either ss488@uowmail.edu.au or sg436@uowmail.edu.au. It is understood that a number of other fundraising activities are being conducted across different areas of the campus.
University of Wollongong Dubai alumna Ms Renu Fotedar, who completed the MBA program in 2000, was killed in an avalanche that hit Mount Everest base camp. Ms Fotedar has been described as a compassionate, gentle but determined student and was known for always lending a helping hand to those around her.
"A mother of two, she had to balance the daily routine of fostering her children while at the same time tackling the reports and presentations of her MBA program. She was also working alongside her husband as their entrepreneurial ventures in their bakeries and kitchen equipment needed nurturing. Despite all of these pressures, Renu was a picture of calmness, always smiling and radiating happiness, bringing joy to all. May you rest in peace Renu and you will be missed but remembered with a lot of fondness by friends and colleagues alike," alumnus Robert Wilson said.