The goal was to raise $5,000 for victims of the earthquake in Nepal. Instead the local Secaucus effort managed to raise more than $6,000 at a special dinner held on May 31 at the Recreation Center.
Despite heavy rains that forced the event inside instead of outdoors in the Meditation Garden, more than 200 people showed up to support the earthquake relief fund. They enjoyed a delicious buffet of international foods and live music from a group of noted Nepali musicians.
“We’re very happy,” said Dorjee Sherpa, one of about 30 Secaucus residents of Nepali descent. “We got overwhelming support. We’re just a handful of people. We really thank the town and the mayor. They made it successful.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Nepali relief organization Heart Beat and Secaucus’s own Hygiene Project, People to People International, and Wrapped 4 a Smile Foundation.
The groups originally partnered to gather food and supplies to fly to victims of the quake in remote regions. Items were shipped overseas and then flown by helicopter to the village of Nuwakot.
That cost $3,200. Additional funds were used to purchase hygiene kits to go to Nepal.
The fundraising dinner was to recoup some of those costs and begin accruing money for future projects, including providing education and healthcare for children, and building small houses to replace those damaged by the earthquakes.
Helping Heart Beat
Heart Beat was established in 2006 to help abandoned street children in Kathmandu. They have since expanded their mission to provide assistance to the needy throughout Nepal.
Pema Chhewang Sherpa has been working for Heart Beat for eight years in Queens. “Right now what’s most important is food and medicine,” he said at the Secaucus event. “Like protein bars. And then we’ll try to rebuild houses, which cost around $150-$200 per house. They’re not so big.”
But they are critical, especially with monsoon season beginning in mid-June. Although the quakes may have ended, the crisis in Nepal is much more than an immediate problem. The need for aide will continue long into the future. And Heart Beat intends to keep providing it.
The event featured extensive international cuisine and musical performances by noted Nepali recording artists.
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Among the projects organized by the group is an art show in Queens featuring t-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, and other objects created by Nepali students and sold to raise funds. Another possibility is a food cart selling Nepali food, including momo, or local specialty dumplings.
Music from the mountains
Sanu Sherpa was a noted singer in Nepal before moving to Secaucus. He entertained the crowd in the Recreation Center with a pair of songs sung to traditional Nepali music on CD. He also put together the group of musicians who played at the fundraiser.
“I have a lot of friends who are musicians,” he said. In fact, some of the group who played in Secaucus had performed earlier that same week at events in Manhattan. “They are very professional.”
The musicians were Pramod Upadhyaya on tabla, Raj Kapoor on madal, Shyam Nepali on sarangi, and Suresh on flute and other mouth instruments.
“These are the traditional instruments from Nepal and different parts of the world,” said Suresh. Currently living in Colorado, he was a musician and music teacher in Nepal, numbering Sanu among his students.
“I used to play on records in Nepal before I came here,” he said. “I love homemade instruments. That’s why I play the bamboo flute, the Jew’s harp, and other things. Different parts of the world have a different kind of instrument. I don’t make them but I suggest how to make it my way, with the tune, the scale. I want to pass those things to the new generation.”
The Secaucus Nepali community provided some of the food at the event, serving fried chicken, potato and cauliflower, tofu and peas. Other regional cuisines represented included India, Vietnam, Italy, and the Philippines.
Restaurants donating food were Olive Garden, Giovanni’s, Legends Diner, Dhoom, Tadka, Mausam, and Plaza Pizza. Other doners included the PBA, Kiwanis, Huber Street School, CasualWear, the Indian Caucus of Secaucus, Ashley Stewart, Fil-Aid, Irene’s Massage & Bodywork, and the ICS Filipino Society.
To contribute to the Nepal earthquake relief effort, visit heart-beat.org.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.