Fredericksburg-Kathmandu Sister City To Present Lecture, Fundraiser for Nepal

On Thursday, September 17, Dr. Lekh Nath Adhikari will present the concluding sister city lecture in the Cultural Quilt-VA250 series. The talk begins at 6:30 PM in the Theater of the Fredericksburg Downtown Library, 1201 Caroline Street. In addition, updates about the catastrophic flooding in Nepal will be offered, along with an appeal for donations to aid in relief efforts.

The lecture, From Monarchy to Republic: Nepal’s 250-year Journey and its Deepening Partnership with the United States, offers a sweeping overview of Nepali-American relationships.

In addition, as a personal gesture of goodwill, attendees are invited to sign a long scroll, which will be sent to Nepal in witness of support from area residents.

The Fredericksburg-Kathmandu sister city group works closely with Engage Nepal, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded to “bridge global generosity with local action.” Founded in 2015, the non-profit “partners with grassroots organizations…to drive sustainable, community-led impact where it is needed most.”  Some Nepalese aid groups have been less than trustworthy; the sister city organization recommends Engage Nepal www.EngageNepal.org as its proven partner.

The sister city members have a strong relationship with the charity’s founder, Scott DiLisi, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 2010 to 2012. Ambassador DiLisi is expected to attend the event. Ambassador DiLisi, a career foreign service officer, has also been posted to Uganda, Eritrea, Botswana, India, Madagascar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A graduate of the U. of Minnesota, and its Law School, DiLisi speaks French and Urdu.

Dr. Adhikari’s extensive knowledge of his native land is enhanced by his advocacy in the ongoing relationship between the two countries. He serves as president of the Fredericksburg-Kathmandu sister city organization. He is also involved in the Nepali American Community Center (NACC), a Northern Virginia-based organization with approximately 3,000 members, and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

“I strive to promote education and cultural understanding between Nepal and the United States,” he says. As a part of that, he adds the elements of “civic engagement, and stronger connections between Nepal and the United States.”

Dr. Adhikari was born in a small Nepali village, earned his University degree in Kathmandu, and received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno. “Since 2014, I have called Virginia home and have been working as Chemistry Faculty at Rappahannock Community College,” he adds.

The Fredericksburg-Kathmandu sister city was founded in 2015 following the devastating April 2015 Nepal earthquakes. The group supports academic exchanges between the University of Mary Washington and Tribhuvan University, and facilitates cultural, environmental and humanitarian projects.

The Nepali lecture is the final talk in a series sponsored by Fredericksburg’s sister cities, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, and the City of Fredericksburg. All lectures are free and open to everyone.

The series, A Cultural Quilt: Fredericksburg’s Sister City Countries and Their Influence on the Fabric of America,  explores the mutual cultural influences between the countries and the United States of America. The series is a part of VA250, a year-long statewide commemoration of the nation’s 250^th Anniversary.

Fredericksburg’s sister cities are: Fréjus, France (1980); Prince’s Town, Ghana (2006); Schwetzingen, Germany (2010); Este, Italy (2015); and Kathmandu, Nepal (2015).

More information about Fredericksburg’s sister cities may be found at https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/808/Sister-Cities.

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