The tri-town has a surprising number of connections to Nepal, and they are coming into play in the wake of two earthquakes in that far away country.

Following their hike to the Mt. Everest base camp in 2014, Jane Tucker, her husband Matt Iverson and daughter Megan Iverson stayed in contact with their trekking guide Suman.

“After the earthquake, we didn’t hear from him for a good week. We were worried,” said Tucker, a Marion resident. “We knew he was hiking to Everest base camp on the day of the earthquake. We figured something bad happened.”

When he was able, Suman contacted the family. He said he and his family were OK, but their home outside of Kathmandu had been flattened, leaving his wife and their two children, ages 5 and 3 months, with no home.

Suman sent photos to Tucker’s family showing the devastation. Along with his family, Suman is living in a tent like many whose homes were destroyed. Food and clean water are in short supply as are clean toilets, according to emails Suman has sent Tucker.

With monsoons coming, she is worried that conditions will continue to get worse for Suman and the thousands of other people displaced by the earthquakes.

In response, Tucker set up a Go Fund Me webpage to raise $5,000 for their friend.

“It’s kind of cool when you can help someone directly,” said Tucker. “Not only will it help him, but it will help the community. Hopefully, he’ll spread the wealth.”

So far, almost $3,000 has been raised.

Tucker wired the first installment of funds to Suman on Monday and plans to send the rest in increments over the course of the next year.

To give, visit www.gofundme.com/u8qq7g8.

Others in the tri-town are also helping Nepal. Marion resident Sally Hunsdorfer has long had a connection with Nepal and founded The Himalayan Project, a nonprofit that focuses on education, particularly in the village of Chaurikharka.

Hunsdorfer visited the village following the first earthquake.

“Their lives had been turned upside down in an instant and many had lost everything that had taken a lifetime to accumulate,” wrote Hunsdorer in an online post.

Shortly after she left Chaurikharka, the second earthquake hit, destroying the few remaining houses. The Himalayan Project, through its partner organization, The Marion Institute, is raising funds to help the village.

“I am very anxious at this point to step up our goals for relief aid and get it distributed as soon as possible so people can start the rebuilding,” she said.

More information is available at www.marioninstitute.org.

Last but not least, a Nepalese student attending Old Rochester Regional High School, with help from All Hands Volunteers, will host a car wash fundraiser for Nepal at the Mattapoisett Fire Station on Route 6 on Saturday, May 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. All Hands Volunteers, a global nonprofit with headquarters in Mattapoisett is also raising funds for its relief efforts in Nepal. Visit hands.org for more information.