NRNA initiates fund raising drive in aid of coronavirus-affected Nepalis
– Suraj Bhandari
The Non Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) has started a fund raising campaign in aid of the Nepali nationals affected by COVID-19.
Before this, the Association has committed Rs 10 million to the Government of Nepal for this purpose. Apart from this, NRNA has set up an NRNA COVID-19 Relief Fund and has started raising funds.
NRNA president Kumar Panta said the amount collected in the fund would be spent in aid of the Nepalis within Nepal and abroad as per the need.
The Association has urged interested individuals and organisations to contribute amount to this fund by visiting the website, nrna.org.com, and clicking ‘donate’ or through online at nrnarespectinc.net. Likewise, the donors can also deposit amount in the NRNA’s bank account in Sanima Bank.
According to Association president Panta, the task of collecting funds has intensified. NRNA’s national coordination council in various countries have also set up financial assistance funds and been collecting assistance. He said although no specific target has been set for collecting a certain amount of money through the campaign, around Rs 30 million is expected to be collected.
"NRNA will also hand over to the Government of Nepal medical equipment worth over Rs 10 million the NRNA’s South Korea Chapter has procured as well as additional medical supplies as requested by the government from the Rs 10 million already committed before," Panta added. Panta is also the coordinator of the COVID-19 NRNA High-Level Coordination Committee.
The NRNA president has called upon all to be united in the present adverse situation, saying necessary assistance was being provided to all Nepalis including students in various countries who are in difficulty, through the international coordination council and the national coordination council.
The Association has its national coordination council in 81 countries so far and there are around eight million NRNAs throughout the world. A large number of Nepalis live in America and European countries where COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating in recent days. So far, five none-resident Nepalis have lost their lives to COVID-19.
