Visitors lend helping hand to relief workers in Kathmandu

Many foreign visitors to Nepal who experienced the earthquake are staying back and lending a helping hand to relief workers.

They are working alongwith thousands of Nepalese youth who are assisting in moving the injured to various hospitals and temporary medical centres as well helping to deliver food, water and relief material to the quake-affected.

Emmy, who hails from Canada, was visiting Nepal when the 7.9 magnitude quake struck on Saturday. She was planning to go trekking, but dropped the idea and stayed back to help.

"It's a bad idea to go trekking now. So, I am helping people here," she told IANS while removing the strewn garbage near the National Trauma Centre.

Paurav Shah, a writer and documentary maker from Dubai, was planning to travel across Nepal and India over the next one year, shooting a documentary about people. He was in Pokhara when the temblor struck.

The area of Pokhara where he was staying with a friend was relatively undamaged. Next day he travelled to Kathmandu as the road was intact. He checked into a hostel where he found around 30 other youngsters from various countries offering to help in relief work.

"We contacted relief organisations, local companies and business people willing to use our services. We got food, tents and other relief materials from some of them and money from others," Shah, who's originally from India but based in Dubai, said.

He said that a local factory owner gave them hundreds of boxes of noodles which they distributed to people living in tents or make-shift shelters in various areas of Kathmandu, along with other relief material. Shah said he would like to stay back for several weeks at least. "There is a huge need here, and I hope to help in whatever little way I can," he said.

Three young women from the US are also helping out at a hospital. Language may be somewhat of a barrier for them, but they feel they can manage. They were busy following a doctor's instructions picking up stretchers and helping the injured when this correspondent met them.

The three are part of a Volunteer Nepal group and have been working in the country since March this year.

Rubaika Satkota, a young Nepalese, said that she has been busy ever since the temblor struck on April 25. She helps provides surgical gloves to doctors and volunteers and helps distribute tea among the people.

The number of young persons doing volunteer work runs into thousands in Kathmandu and each in his or her own way is making a difference, however little.

(Gaurav sharma can be contacted at gaurav.s@ians.in)