Colleagues,

A candlelight vigil and short program paying homage to the victims of the recent Nepal earthquake will be held on May 7th, 8-9 p.m. at UWM’s Spaights Plaza, by the Student Union. The vigil will be held in partnership with UWM and the Milwaukee Nepali community.

The candlelight vigil open to the public will be conducted as an interfaith prayer service including representation from various faith groups and organizations.  Two minutes of silence will be observed, in memory of the earthquake victims. The Nepali national anthem will also be sung by a group of Nepali students.

There are about 500 residents from within the Milwaukee region Nepali community with families and friends affected by this disaster. We invite broad community participation including representation from ethnic communities, faith groups, small businesses, UWM students, faculty, and staff and other area-wide colleges and universities at the evening vigil. The Mayor of Milwaukee and other government officials are expected to be in attendance.

The Nepalese community is also accepting donations directly to its Disaster Relief Fund. For details, please visit www.milwaukeenepalipariwar.org.
Contact Dr. Kalyani Rai, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies, UWM School of Education, (414) 739-8742/kalyanir@uwm.edu.

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee