Local college student works to aid Nepal earthquake victims

Millions of people are homeless and in need of immediate help in Nepal after last weeks devastating earthquake.

Officials said the death toll from last weekend’s magnitude-7.8 earthquake has reached more than 7,000 and is expected to continue to rise.

Nepal’s capital city Kathmandu is in ruins and remote villages are cut off by land slides.

Local college student Ranjan Khadka lived in Nepal until he was 18 years old.

He came to the U.S. to attend college and become a computer programmer.

Last Saturday he was Skyping with his parents and older sister in Nepal when the earthquake hit.

“My sister was crying. I wanted to help them out. I was telling them ‘get out, you don’t have to talk to me. Get out of the way, go inside and get under the table.’ And at the same time all the glasses were shaking everything was falling,” Khadka said.

After living in fear for more than a week Khadka’s family is safe and ready to begin helping.

“My dad with a team of a few people went over there, whatever they could come up with. They went there with a medical team to help a few people out and so when my dad told me that I thought why can’t I do that,” Khadka said.

The United Nations estimates around $415 million in emergency relief is needed.

That’s why Khadka set up a GoFundMe account.

So far he has raised a little over $200, which he said will go a long way.

“It’s one dollar, which is equal to 100 rupees in Nepal, which can buy two meals for people in Nepal,” Khadka said.

But he hopes more people will donate so he can reach his goal of $3,000.

Khadka said his father is a social worker and will use the money to buy food and water, and provide medical relief to those in remote areas.

Khadka’s sister and roommate are joining his efforts.

“If you donate it’s going to be really good. I can’t thank you for that dollar, the people over there will thank you and they’re going to bless you,” Ranjan’s sister Ranjita Khadka said.

“The only thing they can do right now is donate. Donate for humanity. I’m not asking for myself I’m asking for whole humankind right now,” Khadka said.