Save Asha from being drowned by medical debt.

It’s the story of Asha - a young female student hailing from a lower middle-class family in the foothills of the Western Nepal. She embarked on a journey to Minnesota, USA in the spring of 2017, driven by aspirations of higher education and a promising future, much like fellow migrant students. Initially, she faced numerous hardships, but she soon found the resilience to confront these challenges and continue her studies. Her journey was progressing steadily until her life took an unexpected turn due to health issues that started in December 2018

Upon seeking medical help, it was revealed that she had contracted hand-foot-and-leg diseases. Unfortunately, a side effect of the prescribed medication led to a manifestation of these infections within her mouth. During this time, she relied heavily on painkillers, which eventually resulted in the development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a serious condition that required her to be hospitalized a second time. For nearly three weeks, she fought tirelessly to recover physically and emotionally from this ordeal.

Despite the immense obstacles she faced, she mustered the strength to resume her daily responsibilities, including work and study, all while grappling with the mounting costs of medical care. Just as she was regaining a sense of control over her life, fate dealt another cruel blow in the form of a devastating accident in December 2020 that left her struggling to walk and led to the loss of her job. As she coped with the physical pain, the financial strain escalated, and her medical bills were sent to collections. Without a stable source of income, she found herself in a painful predicament, trying to make ends meet and manage the increasing tuition fees. The weight of these challenges has left her feeling adrift and uncertain about her future.

Initially owing $25,000, she has managed to make partial payments, but a substantial debt of around $20,000 remains. The constant harassment from debt collectors has disrupted her ability to focus on her studies. Being an international student, she's constrained from taking on a full-time job, and the income she manages to earn falls short of covering both tuition and living expenses. (Currently, she is a graduate student in Metro State University, Saint Paul, MN) Furthermore, her parents back in Nepal still bear debts incurred to support her education in the US. The emotional toll is such that she finds it difficult to confide in her parents about the extent of her distress.

In search of relief, she has reached out to the Association of Nepalis in Minnesota (ANMN), seeking financial assistance. ANMN's lacks a stable revenue stream and doesn’t have a funding source to support an individual and so we are appealing to compassionate individuals who might be willing to lend a helping hand. Any support or contribution extended would not only ease the burden of medical, but also reignite her hope and belief in the power of human compassion.

Your generosity will forever be engraved in her heart as a beacon of kindness.

Note: Asha is a pseudonym chosen to safeguard her privacy, but she could easily represent anyone close to you – your daughter, sister, a relative, or even a family friend.