The nonprofit Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio is spearheading a fundraiser to help Nepal after the country was devastated by catastrophic floods last week.
As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had brought in more than $47,000.
Last week, a glacial collapse caused flash flooding at the Nepal-China border. The torrent of water wiped out villages, killed hundreds and left thousands missing.
"When this tragedy happened, we felt like it happened to us, to our own family members, to our brothers and sisters," said Sudarshan Pyakurel, executive director of Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio.
Pyakurel said the central Ohio Bhutanese community has "very deep ties to Nepal."
Many of the 30,000 to 35,000 Bhutanese Americans who now live in Franklin, Licking, and Fairfield counties were refugees in Nepal for nearly two decades after they were forced out of Bhutan in 1990. They speak Nepali and call Nepal their ancestral home.
"Our parents, great-grandparents were from Nepal who migrated to Bhutan. And when the ethnic cleansing happened in Bhutan, we had nowhere to go (other) than Nepal," Pykurel said.
Reynoldsburg City Council President Bhuwan Pyakurel echoed Sudarshan Pykurel's sentiments, saying that Nepal gave their community refuge.
"It's our duty to give back to the community which gave us so much when we needed (it)," Pyakurel said.
He said though their effort may not make a "big difference," it was important for the central Ohio Bhutanese community to show support in whatever way they could.
Coming together
While the fundraising effort started in central Ohio, it quickly grew to include other Bhutanese communities in the United States and then other Asian community organizations. Sudarshan Pyakurel said faith-based community organizations, nonprofits, and businesses have all joined together.
The goal is to raise at least $100,000. Sudarshan Pyakurel said the funds will go to the official Nepali government disaster fund. He and other leaders in the Bhutanese American community have floated the idea of putting all the money toward one project, like rebuilding a hospital or school that was wiped out by floods.
"Maybe we'll take one project and completely build it and maybe care for it in the future as well so that we have some sort of ownership," Sudarshan Pyakurel said.
He said the fundraiser will likely remain active for at least a month.
Nepal
Sudarshan Pyakurel describes the Nepalese people as helpful, kind, and hospitable. He said the land is a geographically-unique country with "stunning mountains and amazingly beautiful country."
That complex geography amplified the flood's destruction and has made rescue efforts difficult. Sudarshan Pyakurel said roads tend to wind along rivers. The flood overwhelmed those roads and destroyed bridges. Many of the hardest-hit places remain difficult to reach.
"They are still finding out how many cities, schools and other places have been knocked out, how many people are still missing," Sudarshan Pyakurel said.
The floods also happened at the beginning of pilgrimage and tourist season, meaning more people were in the area than other times of the year. That's on top of the communities that have always lived alongside rivers.
Taking responsibility
Sudarshan Pyakurel attributes the glacial melt that caused the deadly floods due to climate change. He said that wasn't the Nepali citizens' fault.
"They have to be the price for the the issue that the first world creates and the price had to be paid by the people who didn't contribute to it," Sudarshan Pyakurel said.
He said the larger community — the industrial world, like the U.S. and Europe — have to take responsibility for these types of disasters.
"We have to talk about the climate change. We have to do something to stop this type of disaster that is human created," Sudarshan Pyakurel said. "There are other big glaciers that may melt down very quickly and this is potentially sort of a ticking bomb."
