Members of Manatee and Sarasota’s Indian community spent their day walking in Lakewood Ranch to raise money for the victims of Nepal’s April earthquake.

Many Indian-Americans are passionate about the earthquake's effect on Nepal, as their country has also been affected by natural disasters.

Imagine the ground beneath you shaking as your whole village crumbles before your eyes. For the people of Nepal, this is the reality they have had to deal with everyday since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country in April.

“It's devastating," says Bijay Shresdha, who was born in Nepal and lived there until 2001.

Shresdha says thinking about the state of his homeland brings him to tears.

“There is nothing left," he said. "Nothing left! All historical places, all gone.”

India once experienced similar devastation. That’s why Saturday, nearly 200 members of the Bay area's Indian community came together to raise money for Nepal.

“We looked at the devastation on TV," said Anish Patel, one of the walk's organizers. "We can relate because of the earthquake in India 10-15 years ago, so we wanted to do our part to help."

The overall goal was to raise $5,000 - a goal they surpassed by far.

“We raised $12,000," Patel said.

Patel says when devastation hits, it's important for everyone in the world to come together to help.

“It’s nice to hopefully do our part get this aid over there so they can have some temporary shelter, food, clothing whatever they need before they can get back to some normalcy in their lives.”

April’s earthquake was the deadliest disaster in Nepal’s history. if you would like to donate to relief efforts, visit GoFundMe.com/TPANepalEarthquake.

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