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 couldn't just walk away.
"I went home, and I said, 'Man, this isn't really my style, but I've got to see if I can get these guys some help here," said Delargy, 60, who works as a handyman in town.
Delargy was initially wary of the students when two of them showed 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 of Mount Brydges, Ont.
"Two young fellas showing up in the taxi to buy a car isn't normal, I guess you could say," Delargy chuckled during an interview with London Morning's Rebecca Zandbergen.
But Delargy warmed up to the young men while the three of them drove around Mount Brydges in the 12-year-old Mazda, and he learned about their move to Canada to study at Lambton College in Sarnia.
The roommates initially moved to Sarnia in September 2022, but relocated to Strathroy where they all found jobs.
"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. "There is only one bus ... to Sarnia, so we 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, Delargy agreed to drive the students back to their home in 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" — just sparse.
It's been tough to gather all the furniture they need, admitted Adhikari.
Delargy got to work as soon as he got home, sharing their 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 a kitchen table, a couch, bed frames and a TV stand. He also picked up some odds and ends with a money donation he received.
"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."
