EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 28, 2015 Page 15 El Segundo Host Town Fundraiser Nepal from front page An aerial photo of Sudip Giri’s family home in Nepal, which was destroyed in the recent 7.8 earthquake that struck the region. Giri has created a crowdfunding site to raise money for rebuilding. Photo courtesy of Brian Simon. the ruins of the house and stored the items in a neighbor’s home. “My house where I grew up and have all my childhood memories has been demolished,” Giri wrote on his blog nepalneedsnow.wordpress.com. “Although my home and neighborhood will never be the same, I am fortunate enough to have all my family members and loved ones alive.” The tragic stories coming out of Nepal spurred a number of Giri’s friends, former and current co-workers, and volleyball teammates (he plays five days a week at Recreation Park) to reach out to him. Encouragement from his manager at Gunthy-Renker (where he works as a member of the Business Intelligence team) inspired him to start a rebuild effort immediately. With the help of his long-time girlfriend Ankita Thapa, Giri established a Crowdrise website to launch a fundraising campaign first concentrating on the areas of Ramkot and neighboring New Baneshwor. The first $2,500 came in after just 24 hours and as of press time, the “Nepal Needs Now” effort had accumulated over $6,000. An additional fundraiser at El Segundo Middle School organized by the Hilltop Church collected $5,000 more last week, while co-workers and friends also amassed about $12,000 in donations. “We need even bigger support from El Segundo,” Giri said. “All donations no matter how small or big, are very much welcome.” The goal of the effort is to provide the survivors with basic needs to keep them safe and healthy until international aid organizations arrive, or until the families can relocate to more stable areas. Every dollar makes a huge difference in the lives of the impacted families of Ramkot, Giri noted. As an example, just under $3,000 was able to provide tents, mats, blankets, salt, rice, vegetables, oil, gas and a generator to support the basic needs of 10 families (52 members) in the neighborhood. “Restoring my neighborhood will take a significant amount of funds and even more support,” Giri wrote on his blog. “As such we have redoubled our efforts to share our story and, it is hoped, focus more attention on the tragedy in Nepal.” Giri was quick to credit Thapa for her steady support in the cause. “She has relentlessly worked on this fundraiser and has reached out to her friends at ITU [International Technological University] where she is working on her MBA in Bio Management,” he said. “She has been a huge inspiration and I couldn’t have gotten this far without her.” Giri grew up in Kathmandu and was valedictorian of his high school in the village of Bansbari. He and Thapa came to the United States separately eight years ago as international students attending University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. “We were both enrolled in the same English class and that’s where we met,” Giri said. The two started dating and both moved on scholarships to Photos by Marcy Dugan, marcyduganphoto.com A Special Olympics El Segundo Host Town Fundraiser was held May 24th featuring a Bar-B-Q, Raffle, and Music. The next event is May 28 from 6-8pm and takes place at MotoArt Studios in El Segundo, a unique studio which turns salvaged historic airplane parts into functional art. Our co-hosts include the LA Lakers and the LA Kings. Joining us for the reception will be retired American NBA basketball player A.C. Green and Laker Girls. Also, Daryl Evans, LA Kings commentator, well known for his “Miracle on Manchester” winning goal during the playoffs. Please come out and support our effort to offer cultural and entertainment activities to our visiting delegations and help offset costs of their accommodations, meals and local transportation. It costs $100 to host one athlete for one day of their 3-day pre-game celebrations (July 21-24). • Dennis McNeal graces us with his vocals. Allen and Mimi dancing to the sounds. Prince Bernard fills the air with music for the event. Veronica and Dickie checking their raffle tickets. Council Member Mike Dugan is served his bar-b-q from Manual. East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. After graduating in 2010, Giri next headed to Reading, Pennsylvania for a job at Wells Fargo in the IT department, while Thapa remained in school to complete her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology. Giri later earned his MBA in Finance from Oklahoma Christian University. The couple moved to California in 2012. Prior to his current stint at Guthy- Renker, Giri worked for Cetera Financial Group. Thapa meanwhile found employment with Coca Cola. “We lived in Torrance before moving to El Segundo---and the main reason we moved to El Segundo was because it was the safest neighborhood we could find and it was also closer to our job locations. Seeing the way El Segundo has stepped up to help the quake survivors is another reminder of just how wonderful the people here are and what a special community this is. We are very proud to be residents of El Segundo.” For updates on the fundraising effort and to donate, go to www.crowdrise.com/nepalneedsnow •
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