DUNCANSVILLE – The magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its aftershocks that shook Nepal late last month hit home for a local family.

Thousands died, and many thousands were injured in that Asian country.

Shail Dahal, a Nepali native, said he moved to the United States in 1997 to get a higher education. With a degree in information technology, he ended up in the Altoona area, working for Sheetz Inc. as a consultant.

In 2002, his now-wife, Rakshya, also a Nepali, joined him.

They have two children, Shushant, 10, and Arya, 8, and reside in Duncansville.

Though they’ve been in America for awhile, Rakshya still has close ties to friends and family in Nepal. When she learned of the quakes, she was emotionally shaken.

“All I was doing was watching the news and everything,” she said, becoming emotional at times, explaining that she was worried about her loved ones’ safety. “I didn’t know what to expect.”

Luckily, her family members were not hurt, but she still sympathized with the disaster victims and survivors, especially the children.

In a show of support, State College youth soccer players and parents have set up an event to raise money and awareness to help with Nepal’s recovery, a league parent said.

“I was unbelievably relieved (that her family was safe), but there came the second part where I thought, ‘I’m a mom,'” Rakshya said, becoming teary, remembering the videos she watched of the devastation. “I just thought about how, in the span of a minute, they lost everything.”

While the loss of lives was their primary stressor, Shail said the couple mourned the loss of many historic landmarks, too.

Shail remembered a time when he was a kid and used to play in a public park near one of the areas most affected by the quakes.

“All those historic sites and landmarks were a big loss for Nepal,” he said, with Rakshya estimating that some of the lost sites were more than three centuries old.

“We always take it for granted that it’s going to be there,” Rakshya said. “Growing up, you have those things, and now you know it’s not there anymore. These are places I hoped to take my kids one day.”

Rakshya said she felt a drive to do something to help her former countrymen, and, fortunately, her son’s teammates and their parents felt that way, too.

Shushant plays soccer with about 45 other children in the State College-based Celtic Soccer league.

Knowing the family hailed from Nepal, Holly Torbic, a league parent, said she spoke with Rakshya about the recent disaster.

“She was sobbing,” Torbic said, remembering the conversation. “I said, ‘Why don’t we do something to help?'”

Banding together, league parents and players, as well as those from Soccer Shots – another youth league – came up with the idea to host a bake sale/donation drive at the State College Alliance Church’s field along Whitehall Road, Torbic said.

Thursday’s fundraiser, which is slated to begin at 4:30 p.m., is aptly dubbed Soccer for Nepal. Torbic said all funds collected are to be donated to the American Red Cross’ Nepal Relief Fund.

“The kids are doing all the baking; they are taking ownership,” Torbic said.

In addition to bake sale funds, those interested in donating can make checks out to the American Red Cross, with Nepal Relief Fund spelled out in the memo.

Torbic said she hopes the group can raise at least $1,000.

Rakshya is to speak at the event, sharing her family’s back story and what she’s learned from the recent tragic events, and a Red Cross representative is to talk about how the donated funds will be used.

Later, children in attendance will be able to split into groups to play friendly, exhibition-style soccer games, Torbic said. A picture session is to follow.

Kevin Brown, a Red Cross spokesman, said all donations are appreciated.

“They are appreciated not only by the Red Cross but also by the people in Nepal who are in need,” he said.

Since the initial April 25 quake, the humanitarian organization has committed $9 million to distribute 58,000 tarps, 2,700 sets of relief supplies and more than 408,000 water purification tablets among Nepal’s affected residents, as well as ready-to-eat meals and rice, Brown said.

Also, more than 7,000 Red Cross volunteers and staff members, including disaster and medical specialists, have traveled to Nepal to assist, he said.

“As far as the Red Cross volunteers are concerned, this is an international effort,” he said.

Shail, describing Nepal as a poor country, said the group’s help will go a long way.

“The government just doesn’t have the resources,” he said.

But the couple is confident that things will eventually return to normal. Rakshya even talked about a “new Nepal” built on the generosity of those pitching in to aid one another through a trying time.

“When I think of Nepal, I think of simple people that live very honestly,” she said. “And it’s a beautiful place to visit. When all this settles, I hope people are encouraged to explore it.”

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.