An outpouring of financial support for the people of Nepal has volunteers at a Calgary radio station frantically answering the phones.
On Friday, RED 106.7 FM hosted a radiothon fundraiser to support the victims of last weekend’s devastating earthquake in the impoverished nation.
“It’s a major catastrophe close to our hearts and we wanted to reach out,” said Michael Pedersen, Red FM Calgary’s station manager. “We felt that this was an important cause so we contacted the Canadian Red Cross and organized this event.”
All proceeds from the radiothon will benefit the Canadian Red Cross.
Dozens of volunteers including Kalpana Dhakal, spokesperson for Nepalese Community Society of Calgary (NCSC), began answering the station’s phone lines early Friday morning.
Kalpana relocated to Calgary from Nepal nearly 15 years ago and her involvement in Friday’s event followed a troubling early morning phone call from a loved one.
“My husband just called me at 3:30 this morning and said that there was another earthquake,” said Kalpana.“He said ‘Honey, if I don’t meet you or if I don’t talk to you, you do good in life. I love you very much’ and that really broke my heart.”
Kalpana says she volunteered to assist the people of her homeland including her mother who she has not been able to contact since Saturday’s earthquake.
“I heard from my neighbours that (my mother) is fine but the phone lines are disconnected and everything is gone. My heart is broken at the moment.”
A steady stream of donations poured in throughout Friday and station officials expect the phone lines will continue to ring as their listeners finish the work week.
For Kalpana, the outpouring of support from Calgarians is a reminder of the power of humanity during adverse times.
“I sincerely thank everybody who donated today,” said Kalpana. “They are wonderful people and God bless their beautiful hearts.”
The radio-thon is scheduled to continue until 6:00 p.m. but station officials will extend the event if listeners continue to place donations. For more information, visit Radiothon for Nepal or call (403)286-1010.
