Metro Atlanta's Nepali community rallies to help after devastating floods: "We are trying to stand together"

For many Nepali families living in Georgia, the devastating images coming out of Nepal are not of some distant disaster. They are images of home.

Flooding and mudslides have destroyed communities, washed out roads and bridges, and displaced families across Nepal. Hundreds of people have been reported dead and more than 1,000 remain missing, including Americans.

In metro Atlanta, members of Georgia's Nepali community are now mobilizing to help.

"This is a very sad time for Nepal," said Raju Thapa, president of Atlanta's Nepali Cultural Center. "Many have been missing — over like 1,000 people been missing. And the roads are all broken, all the bridges are gone. It's very bad situation in Nepal right now."

Thapa was born in Nepal and has lived in Georgia for 25 years. His mother, brothers and in-laws still live there. All of them, he said, are safe.

But for Thapa, family extends well beyond his own relatives.

"As a Nepali, all the people who have been impacted, that's my family," he said.

Thapa estimates about 5,000 Nepalis now call Georgia home, many of them maintaining close ties to relatives and friends thousands of miles away.

"I have half of my family here, my mom is over there, my brothers are there," Thapa said. "All Nepalese who are here, they have family members, friends, and connections over there too, of course."

The Nepali Cultural Center, normally a gathering place for the community and education, is now shifting its focus toward emergency relief.

The organization is collecting donations and planning a candlelight vigil this weekend to remember those killed and show support for those still searching for loved ones.

"We're trying to raise the funds and send it to them," Thapa said. "Whatever we can do, we are together. We are trying to stand together and help them."

It is a role the community has taken on before.

After a devastating earthquake struck central Nepal in 2015, killing nearly 9,000 people, Thapa said the organization raised $33,000 in aid.

Now, more than a decade later, Nepal is facing catastrophe again — and Georgia's Nepali community is asking its neighbors to help.

Thapa said donations do not have to be large to make a difference.

"Everyone in Atlanta — Nepal is going through a very bad time," he said. "Please help Nepal. Whatever you can. Even penny, a dollar. It will help to the family."

The Nepali Cultural Center is expected to announce the time and location of its candlelight vigil soon, along with information about how people can donate.

Other fundraising efforts are also planned across metro Atlanta this weekend.

Kandara, a popular Nepali band, is scheduled to perform Friday night at the Avon Theater in Avondale Estates. Organizers say all proceeds from the performance will be donated to emergency relief efforts in Nepal.

From Atlanta to a country thousands of miles away, Georgia's Nepali community is trying to make that distance a little smaller.