Nepalese students, one of the largest populations of international students at UW, celebrated their country's new year.

In 2008, the admission of over 40 Nepalese students at UW laid the ground for the formation of the organization “Friends of Nepal at the Univeristy of Wyoming,” with the effort of Anuj Basnet along with five other Nepalese students. 

“Because of the hard work every FNUW members did, we have seen the organization grow and we are appreciated by many students [on] campus,” Resha Singh, FNUW president, said.   

FNUW organized the Nepalese New Year Saturday. The theme of the New Year celebration was “Celebrate Nepal.”

Different Nepalese traditional music and dance performances took place in the Arts and Science auditorium, followed by dinner in the Union ballroom where different Nepalese traditional foods were served as part of the celebration. 

“We prepared for about a month to coordinate everything and it turned out to be pretty good, because we had 500 tickets prepared and all of them were used,” Sudip Neupane, FNUW event coordinator, said.

Sanjeev Gurung, FNUW member, gave a slide show presentation on this year’s CNN hero of the year, Anuradha Koirala, of Nepal. The slide show was about Koirala’s non-profit organization that rescues thousands of women and children in Nepal from sex slavery and human trafficking. 

Jill Johnson, a special guest from UW, was recognized for her success as the FNUW organization associate director at the International Students and Scholars office. 

“I thought they did a fantastic celebration, and they showcased their cultures and traditions with their performances,” Johnson said. “I especially liked the last performance they did on the different holiday celebrations in Nepal.” 

“We had a great show and it turned out good, and we would like to thank the audience for their time, the stage crew for their effort to help us and all the volunteers," Sing said.

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