A candlelight vigil to remember the victims of a devastating earthquake in Nepal and to help raise money for relief efforts will be held on the UO campus Tuesday evening, May 5.

The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Erb Memorial Union amphitheater. Speakers will include students and community members from Nepal and members of the Eugene-Kathmandu Sister City Committee, as well as a Nepalese physician from Springfield who is leaving soon to assist in relief efforts.

Also, a UO student who was near Mount Everest when the earthquake hit is scheduled to speak, if she returns to campus in time.

After hearing the speakers, people will be invited to light a candle, offer condolences, write a note or sign the event banner and donate to kathmandurelief.org.

Large areas of Nepal, including the capital, Kathmandu, experienced extensive damage and loss of life in the April 25 quake, which was measured at magnitude 7.8. Severe damage to roads and other infrastructure, along with a series of aftershocks, have slowed and complicated relief efforts. The death toll has passed 7,000.

The volunteer Eugene-Kathmandu Sister City Committee is trying to raise $100,000 in Lane County and surrounding areas. As of Monday, the total raised was $13,000.

UO student Sugam Singh, a master’s candidate in conflict and dispute resolution, is organizing Nepalese students on campus and working with the sister city group to help raise awareness and donations. Other than one sister, Singh’s entire family was living in Nepal when the quake struck.