'It's just heartbreaking': Milwaukee's Nepali community reacts after catastrophic deadly flooding, mudslides
Kaita Bliffert
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CBS News reports 65 Americans are still missing among thousands of others.
For those back in Wisconsin, seeing the damage is devastating.
"We used to see this in movies, that's exactly how it looks like," said Kapil Parajuli, the president of local nonprofit organization Milwaukee Nepali Pariwar. "It was scary to really see, and if you put yourself back there and understand the situation the folks have to go through, it is very scary."
Parajuli told CBS 58 Milwaukee has "a large Nepalese American community."
"Many of us have friends and family back home in different regions," Parajuli said. "We are reaching out within our own community to figure it out, if anybody's impacted, what we can do."
But Parajuli added getting in touch with loved ones in Nepal right now is challenging.
That's where people like Kaita Bliffert come in.
"I've now been two times to Nepal and we're going back in a couple of weeks," Bliffert said. "There's going to be a lot of need."
She works closely with the Pradiya Foundation, another nonprofit organization that provides education opportunities in a remote Himalayan village.
"I know that the Pradiya Foundation is working with the Nepali government right now, I know there are a lot of organizations that are doing what they can to help out," Bliffert said. "We are going to be in Kathmandu and Pokhara, and it looked like some of the devastation happened in between those areas, so we are absolutely monitoring what's going on over there now."
On Thursday night, Milwaukee Nepali Pariwar will host a community Zoom call to learn about anyone who may be impacted and offer a listening ear to others in need.
"We want to make sure that we have a platform for everybody to come and share their feelings as a community," Parajuli said. "You see the Nepalese community in almost every aspect of life, from universities to hospitals, to workplace to small businesses, everywhere. They're a very vibrant community... if you have a friend or a colleague or family member or neighbor, just reach out and tell them we are here and we understand, I think that would be a great support at this time."
