Led by students and faculty from Nepal, Knox College has raised several thousand dollars in donations on campus and in Galesburg to help rebuild Nepal's schools devastated by recent earthquakes.

"The last couple of weeks have been very difficult for the Nepali community here at Knox, as we keep track of our family and friends oceans apart, while trying to maintain some level of normality in our lives here," said Manisha Pradhananga, assistant professor of economics, who is organizing a fund-raising event in Galesburg this week.

Students began fundraising immediately after the initial earthquake on April 25, raising $1,000 in less than one week. As of May 20, the initiative had raised a total of more than $2,600 on the Knox campus. The total does not include matching gifts pledged by anonymous donors or events held in Galesburg.

The Nepali community at Knox -- eight students and one faculty member -- were joined by other campus groups, including first-year residences, Rotaract Club, International Club, Korean Club, Harambee (African Students Club), Newman Club, AAINA (South Asian Students Club), M.E.Ch.A., four social fraternities -- Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Delta Delta Delta and Phi Gamma Delta -- and the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

Students decided to channel donations to an organization -- Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) -- that is focused on rebuilding Nepal's shattered educational system.

More photos on Flickr from Nepal earthquake vigil at Knox on May 3