Nepali students association raises $27,000 for earthquake relief

May. 7, 2015

Nepali students association raises $27,000 for earthquake relief

MITeri, a Nepali students association, has raised more than $27,000 to aid relief efforts in Nepal, according to the group’s homepage.

The student group has raised the money through a form on its website, which says that the donations will be given to the Help Nepal Network USA, an organization that has been working in Nepal since 1999 and is working on the ground to provide relief. Funds collected through the site will be used to “procure relief materials such as tents, food, and water.”

HeNN USA’s website says that it has raised $285,000 to date for earthquake victims, $35,000 of which has thus far been wired to their team in Nepal.

Nepal continues to recover from a magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25, killing more than 7,000 and leaving tens of thousands without food, shelter, and water.

In addition to raising money for the cause, MITeri also co-hosted a Hack-for-Nepal Buildathon to help analyze data and build software apps to aid in relief efforts.

“We want to leverage all of MIT’s resources, which go beyond money,” MITeri member Bigyan R. Bista G told MIT News.

Those wishing to help MITeri reach its fundraising goals can visit the group’s homepage at http://miteri.scripts.mit.edu/web/.

—William Navarre

3 Comments

Freedom almost 9 years ago

Concern for Baltimore, a formerly great American city crumbling due to its leftist Communist government: $0

Concern for Nepal, a tiny dirt poor country in Asia: $27,000, newspaper articles, MIT student group, MIT web site, software apps, etc.

Since when do we care more about remote Asian villages than our own cities? It's absolutely insane.

Let the third worlders learn to take care of themselves. We're just messing up their culture and long-term sustainability by giving them candy. This is arrogant pathological altruism and I do not support it.

Keiko almost 9 years ago

Wow, Freedom, what is wrong with you. A student group gets their act together (as many student groups do) to raise money for something that is important to them and you see some sort of leftist conspiracy that people respond? Student groups get the community to contribute to all sorts of projects and initiatives, many of which are here at home. Perhaps students from Baltimore should get organized to find ways for the MIT community to help their hometown. Why must you tear down people doing good in service of your own agenda?

Freedom almost 9 years ago

Saving Nepal is neither feasible nor wise. Most people don't have a clue how to save their own people, much less Nepal. This stuff is just a politically correct way to signal you're a good person, like when college-bound rich kids fly out to Africa, ostensibly to help black people. Fine, go do it, and hear the applause from your fellow students, but if you think you're making a difference to anyone but yourself, you're being a fool. It is more prudent to help those near you.