Shital Dhakal is a grad student at Boise State, and he's lived in Idaho for the last year-and-a-half. When he heard news of the earthquake in Nepal that has killed more than 4,000 people, he immediately tried to reach out to his family – but their cell service was down.
“I was trying to get a hold of my family who did not have access to a network," Dhakal says. "So it was a whole six hours of waiting, so I couldn’t sleep [all of] Friday night. It was on Saturday morning I could finally talk to a friend who knew my parents and my family were OK."
His parents live in the eastern part of the country, and have been living in a tent for the last few days. Their home hasn't collapsed, but there are cracks in the structure and with aftershocks still frequenting the country, Dhakal says they're nervous to go inside. He says he can hear the anxiety in the voices of his friends who live in Katmandu, which saw some of the worst destruction and where there's a lack of water and food.
“I could hear that they were really in miserable condition and they were expecting someone to help them.”
So Dhakal and his Nepalese friends have started an online campaign to get supplies directly to the country, and are holding a vigil Tuesday at Boise State for those who died. That event starts at 7 p.m. in on the Quad.
Clarification: This post was updated to reflect a change in venue for Tuesday's vigil.
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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