MANILA, April 28, 2015 – Nepalese students in the Philippines made a special appeal to the Philippine government and to the Filipino public to extend aid to their country, which was hit last Friday by a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake.
“We are requesting the Philippine government to help our country because Nepalese students in the Philippines want to help, but we do not have any resources but the government can help us to send anything that we can do like food, water, medical and financial,” said Nepalese student Merina Shrestha, who has lived in the Philippines for four years.
Shrestha, a second year medical student at the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), said there are Nepalese doctors doing post graduate studies in the country, who are willing to volunteer their services back home if the Philippine government will support them.
As a sign of solidarity with their fellow men back home, more than 150 Nepalese students studying in EAC held a prayer vigil for the earthquake victims and survivors on April 27.
Shrestha also urged the public to pray for the earthquake victims’ spiritual strength.
“I have been telling my friends Filipino friends to pray for Nepal. This is the moment we really need it the most. All there are suffering now so we cannot say what will happen in a second; it is very critical situation,” Shrestha added.
The young woman expressed gratitude that her own family in Nepal is safe, although she related, they have been sleeping in the open air, outside their home, for the past three days for fear of after shocks.
According to reports, more than 5,000 Nepalese students are in the Philippines, mostly concentrated in
Mindanao, Cebu, Tacloban, San Carlos and Manila. (Yen Ocampo/CBCPNews)