“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela
Organizers with Mountains of Relief are asking their fellow Jasperites for help fundraising for public education in Nepal.
Raj Ghimire came to Jasper from Nepal in 2013. Two years later, when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck his home country—and then another only a month later—Ghimire took it upon himself to fundraise for the villages that were affected.
“The earthquake affected the entire country,” Ghimire said. “The country is still recovering.”
At the time, while Ghimire was putting together a grassroots campaign, Jasperite Sherrill Meropoulis was also making efforts to support devastated communities in the Himalayan country. Eventually, the two teamed up and Mountains of Relief was created.
Raj Ghimire and Sherrill Meroupolis (pictured with former Jasperite Sean Heakes) co-founded Mountains of Relief after the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. // Jasper Local file photo
“We shared a heart to heart connection and vision for a stronger Nepal,” Meropoulis has said.
Almost a decade later since founding Mountains of Relief, Raj is a father and a husband. Last year, his brother in law joined he and his wife in Jasper.
Despite life being busier than ever in Canada, Ghimire hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
“I have been supported by people. I can never forget that,” Ghimire said. “So many people get left behind.”
Now, in 2023, Ghimire, Meropoulis, and the Mountains of Relief team are trying their best to help those who would otherwise be left behind.
They are once again hosting a community garage sale in Jasper—this time to raise funds for their Send a Child to School Campaign. They are focusing on families whose children, because of their impoverished situation, are forced to go to work, rather than attend school. Mountains of Relief’s latest campaign will pay for uniforms, school admission fees and supplies, including books, Ghimire said.
“Because of poverty parents focus their children on going to work, to make money to survive,” he said.
Since its inception more than eight years ago, Mountains of Relief has helped lift Nepalis out of poverty. They have built shelters, repaired schools and provided financial aid to new mothers and impoverished villagers. They have provided emergency relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have supported initiatives to provide safer, more efficient cook stoves and they have raised nearly $50,000 for the construction of a new school in the Ramechhap district, an area close to Ghimire’s home village.
And now they want to help send more children to school.
Ghimire says that donations to the garage sale go further than most Jasperites would imagine. Instead of collecting dust, used gear—be it quality furniture, books, sports equipment, kitchen appliances or vinyl records—can not only be given a second life but its sale can help support the education of Nepali students.
“Small things can make a huge difference,” he said. “Something that is stored in your garage for a long time not being used can be useful for somebody and support the life of a student.”
Mountains of Relief has raised almost $120,000 for underprivileged people in Nepal since its inception. // Supplied
Moreover, a Canadian dollar goes a long way in Nepal—the 28th poorest country in the world, according to the World Bank.
“If you support $100 in Nepal in can last for a whole year,” Ghimire said.
And if that $100 means the difference of working at home or going to school, it can mean the world—just ask Nelson Mandela.
After raising almost $50,000, Mountains of Relief rebuilt a school in Nepal in 2019. // Supplied
To donate to the Mountains of Relief Community Garage, contact Sherrill Meropoulis, 780-852-5187 or mountainsofrelief@gmail.com or drop off items to the Jasper Legion ahead of Sunday, July 16 or Monday July 17.
The garage sale takes place at the Jasper Legion July 16-17 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
More information about Mountains of Relief is at www.mountainsofrelief.org
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
