A candlelight vigil will honor Nepal earthquake victims at the Erb Memorial Union amphitheater on Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m.

Several people will speak, including community members and students from Nepal, members of the Eugene-Kathmandu Sister City Committee and a Springfield physician who will soon assist relief efforts in Nepal. A UO student who was in Nepal during the earthquake will speak if she is able to return to campus by the start of the vigil.

The vigil will include lighting candles, writing notes to victims and signing the event banner. Attendees are also invited to donate to recovery efforts online at kathmandurelief.org.

Eugene has partnered with Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, as part of the Sister City program. As of Monday, May 4 the volunteer-run Eugene-Kathmandu Sister City Committee has raised $13,000 of their $100,000 goal.

Nepal was devastated by a magnitude–7.8 earthquake on April 25. Buildings and roads not reinforced with steel were permanently destroyed, and the death toll currently exceeds 7,000. A series of aftershocks have made relief efforts slow and difficult. Geologists worry that aftershocks could continue for up to a year after the initial earthquake.