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Pakistani Students Association member Kiran Lodhie, a fourth-year English student, raises money o

Though an earthquake shook the region of Kashmir on the opposite side of the globe, some UCLA students have already joined in the efforts to help alleviate the devastating effects.

The disputed region borders both India and Pakistan, and both nations lay claim to it.

Members of the Pakistani Students Association asked for donations on Bruin Walk this week, to aid those affected by the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Saturday morning and has already taken 35,000 lives.

Other groups are planning to join their effort in coming days.

Even from thousands of miles away, these students felt it was their responsibility to offer to help.

“We’re the diaspora from our homeland. It’s our duty as the privileged to help out in any way we can,” said Mohsin Barra, a member of the PSA.

For now, the students’ campaign is strictly focused on collecting monetary donations to be sent to the Red Cross through the Pakistani Consulate in Los Angeles, said Kiran Lodhie, president of the PSA.

In the near future, the group and other campus organizations plan on larger fundraising activities.

One method may be to put donation bins in high-traffic areas like Ackerman Union and the dorms, said Hanna Siddiqui, treasurer of PSA.

Given that students are often short on funds, Siddiqui said, this may give them another way to offer their aid.

Students of the PSA, Indian Student Union, Sikh Student Association and the Muslim Student Association, said they will provide aid for earthquake victims, and plans are underway to initiate cooperative efforts among groups.

“We hope to be doing a combined effort ... Right now we’re trying to send money as soon as we can for immediate care,” Lodhie said.

The PSA plans to continue collecting donations this week on BruinWalk. On Monday they collected $300.

“It was really nice to see the support from the UCLA community,” Lodhie said.

Several students came by and contributed a few dollars or loose change to the collection.

“I just saw something on CNN about this. I feel a lot of compassion,” said fourth-year economics student Keisuke Yoshida, walking away from the PSA table on BruinWalk after putting $5 into the donation box.

The Muslim Student Association plans to co-sponsor a fundraising event with Islamic Relief on Oct. 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

They are expecting 1,000 people to attend and their goal is to raise $200,000 in donations, said Adam Elsayed, vice president of the MSA.

But some students hope their fundraising efforts can go beyond collecting money and material goods.

“A lot of people don’t even know about Pakistan, the history. We’re going to make it more educational as well,” Siddiqui said.

Elsayed said efforts to take action will not be limited to supporting relief after the recent events in Pakistan.

“We are going to continue addressing social problems when they occur,” he continued.

With reports from Sara Taylor, Bruin senior staff.

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