Reaching Out to Nepal
Madonna Enwe '16, a neuroscience major (far right), organized a relief effort for victims of the earthquake in Nepal. Photo by Carl Socolow '77.
Student response to devastating earthquake galvanizes campus
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake sent shockwaves around the world April 25, claiming more than 7,000 lives in Nepal and displacing 2.8 million Nepalese. And in the hours and days following the disaster, Dickinsonians, like many around the world, reached out to loved ones from affected areas and looked for ways to help.
One of the galvanized was Madonna Enwe ’16, who grew up in Cameroon and moved to America after graduating high school in 2011, the year after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti.
“When I heard about what happened to Nepal, I immediately thought about the earthquake that happened in Haiti a few years ago, and I wanted to do something to help,” said Enwe, a neuroscience major who plans to one day join an organization like Doctors Without Borders so she can help people affected by natural disasters and epidemics. “I have been in a situation where I went to bed hungry and didn’t know where my next meal would come from, and it made it hard for me to imagine the people of Nepal going through something worse—especially children.”
Enwe organized a fundraiser on campus, enlisting the help of the Office of Religious Life and fellow student leaders like Rogelio Cerezo ’15 (political science), who quickly got fellow Gray Hats on board; Alexandra Bennett ’15 (psychology); and Brendan Birth ’16 (history). Many small donations later, the group raised $518.13 and counting, cutting checks, through the Office of Religious Life, for the Red Cross, World Vision, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam.
Like the recent natural disasters in Haiti and Japan, the Nepal earthquake touches close to home in an international community like Dickinson, notes Prerana Pakhrin '13, who counts five fellow Nepali alumni who are living in their home country (all have been reported safe).
Those
who have not yet had a chance to give may drop off donations at the Office of
Religious Life (Landis House, 101 South College St.) or at the Dickinson College Children’s
Center (28 Garland Ave.) through the end of the week, Enwe said. “After
that, I will encourage everyone to donate any amount of money to a credible
organization,” she added.
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Published May 6, 2015