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Following last week’s devastating flood in Nepal, Palo Alto-based Pakistani restaurant Zareen’s will be among the businesses raising money to support Nepali relief efforts. And it is hoping more businesses follow suit.
From Sept. 3 to Sept. 7, the restaurant will be setting aside a cut of all earnings for the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, with a goal of raising $2,500. They join the dozens of businesses and individuals across the Bay Area who are mobilizing to support Nepal following the Aug. 26 flash floods, which leveled whole towns, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and about 4,000 people missing.
Upon hearing about the tragedy, the restaurant’s head chef and owner Zareen Khan said she felt compelled to “jump in and help.”
“I want our community to know that we’ll always be there in these kinds of situations,” Khan said. “It’s one of our missions to lead with our hearts.”
Doctors Without Borders posted a press release Aug. 27 saying the organization is assessing the situation and is ready to provide support however possible. Khan, who is from Pakistan, said medical support is critical in floods and monsoons, as water-borne diseases can spread rapidly.
She said she doesn’t have a specific percentage of proceeds in mind for this weekend’s fundraiser, as it’s unclear how much revenue the restaurant will generate, but that she’s set a goal for more than $2,000.
“We have to do whatever little we can do,” Khan said.
Fundraisers are being organized across the Bay Area to support relief efforts. The Nepali Association of Northern California hosted a candlelight vigil on Aug. 28 at the nonprofit’s community center in Richmond, where it first began collecting donations for relief efforts. The association is collecting money for the Government of Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, which goes directly into the government’s response and recovery efforts.
The association’s President Preetesh Karki said they’ve been able to collect more than $30,000 since then, mostly from Nepali residents throughout the Bay Area, though he’s seen more and more people from outside the community look for ways to help.
Along with publicizing the government’s direct link, the association has been fundraising themselves and donating to the same relief fund. Because the association is a 501c3 nonprofit, Karki said people have the benefit of counting the donation towards their taxes.
“People are looking for ways to help, and everyone feels the pain,” Karki said.
Karki is a co-owner of the San Carlos restaurant Nepali Momo & Tandoori Kitchen, which opened this summer. He said they’ve been discussing the best way to fundraise through the restaurant.
Rara, a Nepali restaurant on California Avenue, has been advertising the government’s disaster fund for the past few days by posting QR codes on its social media and posters at the restaurant. Head chef and co-owner Binod Poubel said his sister, her husband, and their daughter and her husband are among those missing.
Poubel’s son, Adi, said people seem eager to support. The restaurant posted signs inside and outside the restaurant, and within one day, he noticed multiple people passing by on the street stop to scan the fund’s QR code. Adi Poudel said the restaurant is also thinking of ways to donate portions of their proceeds.
“The response is good,” Adi Poudel said. “A lot of people are saying (they want) to help and are encouraging us.”
Although Karki said he’s glad Nepal has been receiving support, he added that the amounts that have been raised so far are nowhere near the damage cost estimates, which Nepali officials say hover around $5 billion. Karki said he’s hoping to see more support come in from governments and larger companies.
On top of monetary donations, Karki said he hopes wealthier nations’ governments help relief efforts by providing more direct or tangible aid, such as by granting temporary protected statuses for people of Nepali origin who were in the United States on temporary visas during the flood.
The floods were caused by a glacier collapse, a natural disaster that Karki said is expected to become more common with climate change and have a disproportionate effect. These disasters have a disproportionate effect on nations like Nepal, which don’t generate nearly as much carbon emission or waste as the United States.
“This is not the time to just pray for Nepal. This is the time to apologize to Nepal and Nepali people,” Karki said. “These donations are not just like charity. The way I see it is like a bill you pay. You’re using something, and then you have to pay for it.”
