Anita Joshi was visiting her native Nepal when an earthquake struck on April 25, killing thousands of people in that country and displacing hundreds of thousands more.
Joshi, the wife of UL Lafayette economics professor Dr. Deergha Adhikari, was attending an engagement party at a restaurant when the building started to shake.
She made it safely out of the restaurant and spent several nights sleeping outdoors before being able to return to Lafayette.
“I was thinking I wasn’t going to survive, and I was thinking about my children, who are here,” said Joshi, referring to her grown daughter and son, who live in Colorado and Texas, respectively.
Joshi said that although she is still having nightmares, she is much luckier than others.
On Wednesday night, she recounted her experiences at a candlelight vigil and fundraiser in Oliver Hall Auditorium on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus.
UL Lafayette’s Nepalese Students’ Association and Association of Indian Students sponsored the event. The goal is to raise funds to provide clean water and blankets for about 500 families in and around Sindhulpalchok, one of the worst hit regions.
Dr. Durga Poudel, a professor of environmental sciences and a Nepalese Student Association advisor, is from the area north of Kathmandu. He said the fundraising is part of a larger effort by the American Indian Association in Lafayette.
For more information about how to make a donation, visit the Acadiana Indian Association website or contact Dr. Poudel at ddpoudel@louisiana.edu or (337) 482-6163.