Nepali community in Kamloops supporting TRU student, others impacted by floods

The fundraiser has a goal of of $6,000 and as of publishing it had raised a little over $4,200.

“It is heartbreaking for me to feel that I could not give my parents the good life they deserved while they were still here,” Tamang wrote online. “I cannot change that now, but I want to [honour] their sacrifices by caring for the children they left behind.”

“My siblings and cousins are far too young to understand [this] situation. They should be going to school, playing and dreaming about their future not worrying about food, money or whether they can continue their education.”

Tamang is one of 108 students from Nepal enrolled at TRU, and Reuben Onyango, the university’s interim associate vice-president, students told CFJC Today she has chosen to return home to be with family.

He said the university is making sure that Tamang will remain in compliance with her study permit, so she can return to Canada “when the time is right.”

“Every time we’re made aware of these tragedies, we reach out to students,” Onyango said. “It doesn’t matter how many conflicts or tragedies we are dealing with at a time, we are here to support our students and make them feel that they can reach out whenever they need to.”

“It’s a small community of students from Nepal at TRU so everybody knows everyone,” Yunisha Biste, a third-year TRU student from Nepal, told CFJC Today. “Even if you are not very close, you will have that sense of belonging because you’re from the same country.”

Onyango said supports at TRU – which include counselling as well as mental health and academic supports – will be offered for as long as needed.

“It’s important that in times of whether its conflict or tragedy that the sense of community is strong and we want to make sure that students stay connected,” Onyango said. “We’ve also provided emergency funding to students who qualify.”

More than 1,000 people have been killed by the flash floods, and thousands more are still missing including at least 29 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Global Affairs Canada is working to collect DNA from the families of Canadians still missing to assist with identification efforts.

“There were so many tourists that were visiting Nepal at that time and they haven’t been found,” Biste added. “It’s really hard but all we can do is come together. When something like this happens, you get together and try to help each other.”

Sharma said in addition to helping raise money for Tamang’s family, the tight-knit Nepali community in Kamloops is trying to help support other victims back home. He said the Government of Nepal is currently accepting donations to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.

“We are individually supporting that fund but also collectively as a community we have collected some money through bhajans, which is a Hindu tradition of singing and praying,” Sharma said. “That money is also going to be donated to victims back in Nepal.”

“I think we are more in a support phase right now, than getting shocked now by the disaster. There are many people who we are praying for. There were pilgrims, trekkers, hikers, workers, everyone in a swift [instance], they just lost their life, their properties.”

“It’s very difficult when you’re dealing with times like this and you’re far from your loved ones,” Onyagno said. “Kamloops has always been a community that really steps up in times like this and we’re hoping the same will happen this time around.”

A climate scientist by trade, Sharma also echoed Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who said Monday that the disaster highlighted the need for action to combat climate change.

“The Himalayas are a young mountain range from a geological perspective, so they are more fragile, and climate change is making them unstable,” Sharma said. “That global heating may have triggered the melting of the glacier, and made it more slippery and contributed to this unexpected event.”

“It was scary and at first I thought maybe it’s not true, or it’s AI or something, but we then realized it was a big, devastating incident.”

by Victor Kaisar

Nepali community in Kamloops supporting TRU student, others impacted by floods

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