News

‘We stand together’: Nepalese community rallies for homeland

By Brynne Timewell

Aug 28, 2026

Members of the Nepalese community are coming together to support each other during this difficult time. Photo by Contributed

Members of the local Nepalese community are grappling with grief and uncertainty following the landslide and flash flooding that has torn through Nepal.

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Community members are scrambling to reach loved ones back home, with many personal connections to people caught in the crisis.

“Unfortunately, my parents are stuck there,” Greater Shepparton Nepalese Community secretary Ujjwal Rijal said.

“They are safe, but they’re stuck there.”

Triggered by the collapse of a steep glacier along the Nepal-Tibet border, the catastrophic flash flood hit at about 8.40am Nepal time on Wednesday, August 26, with hundreds left dead or missing.

Federal Foreign Minister Penny Wong reported that there were at least 39 Australians among those missing as search efforts continued.

Nepalese authorities also warned the danger had not passed.

Mr Rijal said the worst affected town was Rasuwagadhi, which sits on the northern frontier of Nepal and has floodwaters sweeping down the Bhote Koshi river.

He added that while no Shepparton community members had been directly identified as causalities or missing, the toll was still being felt deeply.

“This has been emotionally broken down to all the Nepalese living in Shepparton and all over the world,” Mr Rijal said.

“We are emotionally impacted as a community because we always stand together.”

Local councils and organisations have reached out to the Greater Shepparton Nepalese Community to offer assistance if needed.

The natural disaster has also forced the community group to cancel its fifth annual Teej Festival — a celebration of women’s empowerment — which was scheduled for Sunday, September 7.

“This is not the best time where we can enjoy dancing, eating and having chats,” Mr Rijal said.

“We have lots of sympathies and condolence to the loved ones back home.”

Instead, the community members have taken to their Facebook page, directing donations through official channels established by the Nepalese prime minister’s office.

The Greater Shepparton Nepalese Community has extended its thanks to the wider Shepparton community for its outpouring of support during this time.

“Being a multicultural community and receiving those supports is really good acknowledgement,” Mr Rijal said.

With the danger in Nepal far from over, members of Shepparton’s Nepalese community say all they can do now is keep watching, waiting and standing together.

Anyone wishing to support the recovery effort is urged to donate through the official channels listed on the Greater Shepparton Nepalese Community’s Facebook page via tinyurl.com/jfu3kf9m.