There are hundreds of Nepalese living here in the Mohawk Valley. Many of them need help locating family members who were affected by the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

Local Nepalese are going through a heart wrenching time after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked their native land on April 25th. Thousands of lives were lost, and hundreds of others have gone missing. There are currently over 300 Nepalese who call Central New York their home. The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees has partnered with the American Red Cross to assist locals in finding family members in Nepal.  According to WKTV, communication barriers have posed the biggest problem in making contact with their relatives.

Jennifer Cieslewitz, the volunteer coordinator, at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, says “Right now with the communication being kind of broken...telecommunications broken in Nepal....we imagine that people are trying and trying and trying. Once the dust settles...I’m sure people will have a better idea and either is more concerned and continuing to look or gotten messages that people are safe.”

So far there haven't been any local matches of individuals with misplaced Nepalese relatives but they're not giving up hope. The program that helps them locate their family members is called Restoring Family Links and is a function of the American Red Cross.

"The family messages transmitted by the American Red Cross can be very brief, but the three short words 'I am alive' may be all that is needed to ease the minds of distraught loved ones half a world away."

You can make a difference by donating to the Red Cross HERE.

More information about Restoring Family Links can be found HERE.

 

 

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