The highly anticipated event of the year, “Walk for Nepal” (WfN) finally took place on November 10 in Arlington, Texas. Organised by Youth leaders in Dallas and Nepal ko Yuwa (NKY), a global Nepali youth movement, the walk witnessed participation of more than 250 people who marched in high spirits with a Nepali flag and the WfN Banner at the River Legacy Park.
Nepalis and friends of Nepal from all ages and walks of life embraced the movement wholeheartedly singing and dancing to the songs that evoked memories and love for their homeland. WfN aims to mobilize Nepali diaspora to raise awareness about issues in Nepal, generate goodwill, and channel meaningful contributions to Nepali charities.
The WfN movement commenced in Boston in 2011. This is the second time WfN was organized in Dallas where 13 Nepali charities participated and raised more than $12,000 for their causes. Aarogya Foundation, Animal Nepal, Change Fusion, Community Members Interested, Early Childhood Development Center, Ghar Sita Mutu, Help Kids in Nepal, Kehi Garoun, Nepalese Children Education Fund, Nepal Global Community for Education, R&K Community Development, Power a Village, and Teach for Nepal raised funds for their social causes. Twenty percent of the funds raised by the partner charities will be allocated to WfN Youth Innovation Fund to award competitive grants to Nepal-based social projects.
During the walk, local bands Kattmandu and Nepal Yatayat as well as singers Kabin Shrestha, Pasa Manandhar, and Dharane Bikash entertained the crowd with songs. Kushal Pokhrel, in his closing remarks, thanked everyone for getting involved and welcomed the initiatives taken by Dallas youth and different NGOs. He further summed up the walk as making history ‘We started at 12 pm and walked at 3 pm sharp – something that we Nepalese are not very known for. Thank you everyone for coming up to help someone not as fortunate as ourselves.”
In collaboration with local leadership teams, NKY has organized WfN in Boston, London and Washington DC earlier this year and after Dallas, has raised a total of about $72,000 from the four cities. In 2014, NKY intends to organize these walks in more countries and strengthen collaboration among the participating NGOs.