Used-car sale turns into quest to help 4 Ontario college students from Nepal furnish their empty place
Chris Delargy of Mount Brydges, Ont., wasn’t planning to start a furniture drive when he sold his red 2011 Mazda 3 to four students from Nepal last week, but after seeing their empty apartment, he┬аcouldn’t just walk away.
“I went home, and I said, ‘Man, this isn’t really my style, but I’ve got to┬аsee if I can get these guys some help here,”┬аsaid Delargy, 60, who works as a handyman in town.
Delargy┬аwas┬аinitially wary of the students when two of them┬аshowed up in a taxi to take his car for a test drive earlier this month.
They invited me up to their apartment so I could write them a receipt for the deposit and we walked in and basically they didn’t have any furniture at all.– Chris Delargy┬аof Mount Brydges, Ont.
“Two young fellas showing up in the taxi to buy a car isn’t normal, I guess you could say,” Delargy┬аchuckled during an interview with London Morning‘s Rebecca Zandbergen.
But Delargy┬аwarmed up to the young men while the three of them┬аdrove around Mount Brydges┬аin the 12-year-old Mazda, and he learned about their move┬аto Canada to study at Lambton College in Sarnia.
The roommates initially moved to Sarnia in September 2022, but relocated┬аto Strathroy┬аwhere they all found jobs.┬а
“We are working in Strathroy and we need to go to our school in Sarnia,” said Sandip Adhikari, 27, who is studying advanced manufacturing and applied material processing, and works at a gas station in Strathroy.┬а“There is only one bus … to Sarnia, so┬аwe have to spend lots of time waiting for the bus, so we want to get a car to go to school.”
The students convinced Delargy to knock $650 off the asking price, down to $4,250.
Only mattresses in apartment
After the test drive,┬аDelargy agreed to drive the students back to their home┬аin nearby Strathroy.
“They invited me up to their apartment so I could write them a receipt for the deposit, and we walked in and basically, they didn’t have any furniture at all,” recalled Delargy.
“They had mattresses on the floor in their bedrooms and they had an extra mattress in the living room, and that was it,” he said, adding the apartment was “clean as a whistle”┬атАФ┬аjust sparse.
It’s been tough to gather all the furniture they need, admitted Adhikari.┬а
Delargy got to work as soon as he got home, sharing┬аtheir story on a local Facebook page.
“I said I got to post something and see if I can get these guys some help here, some furniture or something.
“The response was just unbelievable,” said Delargy.
So far, he’s delivered the roommates┬аa kitchen table, a couch, bed frames and a TV stand. He┬аalso picked up some odds and ends with a money donation he┬аreceived.
“He’s a wonderful guy,” said Adhikari. “I didn’t expect that, but after meeting with Chris, I’m so excited.
“I’m just wondering how Canadians can be so helpful and I’m so grateful.”
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