Nepal Earthquake: Loved ones dead, families waiting for food in humiliating queues, courage to help others

Nepal Earthquake: Loved ones dead, families waiting for food in humiliating queues, courage to help others
Nepal Earthquake: Loved ones dead, families waiting for food in humiliating queues, courage to help others
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It has been a month since the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on 25 April. In the days since, several aftershocks, people are struggling to cope with their loss and rebuild their lives. Many have lost everything, all their possessions, but more importantly, loves ones. More than 8,600 people died and thousands of people are homeless. The News Minute brings you the stories of six people, who recount the day that changed the course of their lives in just a few seconds.Black Day that wasGelje Sherpa (34), mountain guideOkhaldhunga, NepalWe were camping at the Everest Base Camp. The temperature was normal that day. So, I was about to climb up the mountain with my Australian friends when an avalanche hit Base Camp. First, I thought it was not that big. I had seen such avalanches in the past. But, this was beyond my imagination. We stayed inside the tent but that did not help. I had asked my friends to protect their heads as my instructor had told me during training sessions. Our tents, food and first aid kit were buried in the snow. We came down next day (April 26). People, who had camped a little higher than us, died on the spot.‘It ruined our lives’Anita Shrestha (23), college student          Thimi, Bhaktapur, NepalI can no longer walk. My sister Sunita (on the right in the photo) and I were watching tele-serials on the third floor of our house and my grandmother was asleep on the ground floor when the earthquake hit. Within a few seconds, the second and the third floor came crumbling down.  I still cannot describe the fear that engulfed me. I could not breathe for what seemed like a few minutes. Somehow, Sunita pulled me up from the rubble. I could not stand. Someone took me straight to the nearest hospital. Till that time, I did not know about the death of my 90-year-old grandma. My backbone was fractured. Doctors advised me complete bed rest. My homeless family took me to my uncle’s place where we stayed for a week. Then we shifted to a tent at Thimi playground, which is now our home.‘Owner of three houses, my family is now homeless’Sabina Maharjan (31)Gol Dhunga Village Development Committee (VDC), NepalWe had three houses, but today, we are homeless. There are 18 members in my family; all of us are staying inside a tent. We are using a neighbor’s toilet. Moreover, mom is suffers from asthma and dad has high blood pressure. I am worried about my parents’ health. They still have not overcome the trauma. They have become so sensitive that we cannot share any bad news with them. They are becoming restless and impatient. ‘Biscuits for lunch and noodles for dinner’Bharia Shahi (60)Maitidevi, KathmanduI do not have anything anymore. I feel very humiliated standing in a queue to collect the relief materials provided by the government. My family and I are staying in a school playground as our house was damaged during the earthquake. I was watching television when the massive earthquake hit Kathmandu. We rushed outside. One of my neighbors came and told me that my house was knocked down. I was shocked and rushed to see it (Shahi's house in the photo above).‘My mother-in-law sacrifice to save my daughter’s life’Sudan Maharjan (35)Om Bahal KathmanduMy mother-in-law Laxmi Dangol (55) sacrificed her life to save my eight-month-old daughter Parayasi Manandhar. I was at my workplace and my wife Renu Manandhar had gone to her parent’s house at Brahma Tole, Kathmandu. My daughter was playing with her grandma when the devastating earthquake hit Kathmandu. My mother-in-law had held my daughter in her arms. However, the ceiling of the house fell down and my mother-in-law died on the spot. Red Cross Society’s volunteers pulled her dead body from the rubble where they found my daughter on her lap. My daughter is alive because of her. Today, we are living at my relative’s place as my house was completely damaged.‘I lost my house but have courage to rebuild it’Raju Bajracharya (29)Om Bahal, KathmanduI was alone at my home when the quake hit. It’s not only me who lost a house. Thousands did and they are all now homeless. So I have decided to help others. I can feel their pain. Today, I am helping people through Nepal Red Cross Society. We need better support from the government, though it is trying to help the people. 

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