TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Dozens of Florida State University students from India were displaced following last Wednesday’s apartment fire.
Now, they’re dealing with the unthinkable 8,000 miles away from home.
The Indian Students Association of Tallahassee says 30 students from India lost everything when flames consumed The Social Seminole last week.
Mani Tyagi, the president of the student organization, partnered with the India Association of Tallahassee to create a GoFundMe.
Social media influencers have shared the fundraiser, and as of Tuesday afternoon, it has raised about $50,000 for the displaced students. The organization will now work with other stakeholders to distribute the funds to the displaced students in need.
“I have just one word, grateful. They are so awesome that they have been helping us a lot. I never thought that, like, I never realized that these people are so connected together and they are so helpful,” he said.
Tyagi also said some locals are offering help in other ways, too, offering to be their “American parents” as they work to rebuild.
“Since we are away from family, they want to act as, like, our moms. Like, they have seriously said this thing,” he said.
“I want to be, like, act as your mom because your mom is not here. Your father is not here. So, is it alright if we visit you as American mom? So, that has been really helpful.”
Tyagi also says two churches have stepped up to offer displaced students a Thanksgiving lunch and dinner on Thursday.
Florida State said the Center for Global Engagement is working with the impacted international students to get them the documentation they need to stay in the country.
“We also notified the consulates about the impacted students since many will be requesting replacement passports,” FSU Senior Director of University Communications Amy Farnum-Patronis wrote in an email.
Tyagi said that process is going well, and he was hopeful the impacted students would get new documentation soon.
Farnum-Patronis also said that faculty and staff have come together in the last day to donate “household items, luggage, and gift cards to help the affected students get started in replenishing their belongings and settle into new housing locations.”
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