WHEN a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal in 2015, Armidale High School student Riya Thapa moved into action.
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The earthquake killed more than 6000 people, and an estimated $2 billion was needed to rebuild.
Riya was determined to help, along with the rest of the Nepalese community in Armidale.
“I am from Nepal and the majority of my family still live there,” Riya said.
“When we heard about the earthquake we were all devastated about what was happening to our family.”
So, she did what most Year 10 students probably never would.
Riya and the community decided to build a school in the heavily affected rural village of Nuwakot.
“Nuwakot saw some of the most devastating impacts, the school building was literally half-gone, the kids were sitting on the ground studying – it was pretty heartbreaking to see that," Riya said.
“It was a pretty fragile moment for them and us.
“As a kid I had seen things like this happen before, but at that time it was a helpless situation – my parents and I couldn’t do anything because we were in that situation.
“This time actually being able to help them to this extent was great, the feeling was great.”
For her efforts, Riya has been awarded a Dame Marie Bashir Peace Award.
The award goes to a student who has shown leadership in creating social justice.
When Riya rallied the Nepalese community in Armidale, she said she had no idea how powerful their impact on Nepal would be.
Now building their fourth school building in Nuwakot, the project is taking strides.
“In the future I want to do more than that, I don’t want to just leave it with this one school – I want to make connections around the world,” Riya said.
“Just doing one country isn’t enough, it’s not just one country that needs help, it’s all of the developing countries.”
In Nuwakot, the school is located atop a hill, and townsfolk have to travel for an entire day just to get clean drinking water and supplies.
When she arrived, the students were sitting on plastic sheets on the ground – and even a filtration system wouldn’t make the water clean enough to drink.
But, through fundraising efforts at school and within the Nepalese community in Armidale – Riya hopes to one day change that.
Armidale High School principal Carolyn Lasker nominated Riya for the award.
“Riya is a true leader who has inspired the actions of others through fundraising for the victims of the earthquake in Nepal,” she said.
Later this year, Riya will return to Nepal to see the progress of the school and deliver care packages to students.