KARRATHA’S TEEJ CELEBRATION TURNS TO FLOOD RELIEF FOR NEPAL
Source: FB page Nepal Rising
BY TANGIORA HINAKI
Karratha’s Nepalese community is transforming one of its most important cultural celebrations into a fundraiser for families devastated by catastrophic flooding in Nepal.
The Nepalese Culture Teej Festival Get Together will be held at the Karratha Leisureplex from 6pm on September 5, but organisers say this year’s gathering will carry a much deeper meaning.
The August 26 disaster was triggered by a glacier collapse near Nepal’s border with Tibet, sending a destructive torrent of ice, rock, water and debris through communities along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems. Rescue operations remain underway, including efforts to reach people trapped or missing at hydropower projects.
You can make a donation towards Nepal at Bina’s Beauty Salon in Karratha
Karratha organiser Bina Kharal said watching the disaster unfold from Western Australia had been heartbreaking, particularly for community members with loved ones still in Nepal.
“It’s been a very heartbreaking and emotional time for our Nepalese community.”
She said many people in Karratha have family and friends in affected areas and remain deeply concerned about their safety.
“We are deeply worried and want to do whatever we can do from here.”
Teej is traditionally an important celebration for Nepalese women, bringing families and communities together through culture, food, music and celebration.
Source: FB page Nepal Rising
But this year, organisers have scaled back the entertainment and will instead use the gathering to remember those who have died, support those still missing and raise money for families trying to rebuild their lives.
Organiser Pooja Bhandari said the event had originally been planned as a traditional celebration before news of the disaster changed its direction.
“We are not going ahead with the entertainment side of it. Rather than doing the entertainment and having the dance performances, we are keeping it very simple and low.”
She said fundraising and community solidarity would now be at the heart of the evening.
“It will be more focused on the fundraising and meet and greet with the people in the community … appealing for the help, for the donations so we can make some differences back home to the affected families.”
FB Page: Nepal Rising
The gathering will begin with a welcome before those attending observe two minutes of silence for people who have died or remain missing, and for families who have lost loved ones and homes.
Organisers will collect donations at the Leisureplex, while people unable to attend will also be able to contribute through Bina’s local beauty salon.
Pooja said organisers intend to transfer money raised to Nepal’s PMO relief fund, with assistance directed towards immediate needs including safe shelter, drinking water, hygiene supplies and other emergency essentials.
She said support from Karratha’s small but close-knit Nepalese community had convinced organisers to continue with the gathering rather than cancel it.
“We should raise funds, we should do something as community members.”
The Nepalese Culture Teej Festival Get Together and Flash Flood Fundraiser will be held at the Karratha Leisureplex from 6pm on Saturday, September 5.
The community is inviting people from across Karratha to attend, remember those lost and help provide practical assistance to families in Nepal.