Local Nepali youth from Connecticut organized a picnic July 29th to bring the Nepali community together for an afternoon of food and fun. The picnic took place from 11am - 7pm on Hammonasset Beach with about 300 people in attendance and a $1 admission fee. Most of the food and supplies were contributed by local Nepali and Indian restaurants and other businesses. A total of  $1285.37 was raised during the event, $493.03 of which will be donated to NCEF.



The volunteers were pleased with how the picnic went and the high attendance. Shila remarked, “We had an awesome time at the event. We are very happy and are looking forward to doing the same next year. Thanks to all of the members and business for supporting our youth.”

Sukh, one of the coordinators of the event, describes his motivations for organizing the picnic.
“As a public health major, my goal is to bring all Nepali together to form a good backbone, to secure and preserve our culture for future generations so we never forget our background and where we came from. This picnic is a very first step towards that goal.” He went on to thank all involved for volunteering, sponsoring, and participating.

Krishna Pandey of Haveli India Restaurant (http://www.haveliindia.com), which provided food for the 300+ attendees, talked with us about his experience. Pandey explained, “I came to the US 10-15 years ago from Nepal and I had always wanted to do something for the community. Rather than ask somebody else, I wanted to do something myself. When the youth group came to me and asked for support, I was instantly on board. The big cost was going to be food. They wanted to charge each person $5. I said, ‘lets just do it without the admission, I will provide the food.’”



Ram Chandra Regmi, an individual sponsor of the event reiterated the group’s sentiments. “I wanted to encourage our youth to do something for the community and at the same time get some leadership skills. This is the beginning. I was very glad to see that the Nepali community came together to support this event. We should definitely do it again next year and I have already seen the interest to do it again.”

One participant, Sahara Shrestha, shared her experience, highlighting the group’s use of social media as an effective platform to get the word out to other Nepali youth. “It was well advertised on a facebook page for local events and gatherings. I also got an invitation personally from Sukh. It sounded like a fun event and it turned out to be a fun event.” Among activities for the attendees were volleyball and soccer games, food, and, most importantly, a chance to engage and interact with the Nepali community in Connecticut. Shrestha added, “I did not know there were so many Nepali people living in CT! I made some new friends during the five hours I was there. I will definitely go next year. What a great event!”



These coordinators and volunteers helped organize the event: Sukh Bhandari from Southern Connecticut State University; Anup Ojha, Mahesh Bhandari, and Saroj Bhandari from UConn; and Nisched Khadka from Tunxis Community College. Many other Nepali and Nepali Students in Connecticut helped, including Sanchin Raghubansi, Muna Bhandari, Shila Bhandari Evans, Kriti Thapa, Abhishek Thakur, Alisha Shrestha, Utsav Thapa, Saurav Sakya, Bijaya Jaisi, Sangum Dhakal, Subash Aryal, and Sabin Sherpa.

Sponsors for the event include: Haveli India, Middletown, CT, Krisna Pandey, supplied food for 300+ people; Zaroka Resturant and Bar, New Haven, CT, Ram Bhandari / Ram Shrestha, supplied beverages; New Park Package Store, Anand Khadka, assisted with cash for event expenses, Niki’s Dollar, Prakash Thakur, supplied dishes and utensils and generator; and individual sponsors Sabin Sherpa and Ram Chandra Regmi helped partially fund the picnic.

The organizers also like to thank the Nepalese Association of Connecticut (NAConn) and the Nepali Society In America (NSA) for their support in youth development and inclusiveness in the community by helping to make this event successful.

Rita in Sunsari enjoyed drawing pictures and was happy when she was told
that the drawings were good

Bhumika in Patan was happy to get in the top ten position in her midterm.