After crossing the bridge at Balefi, we took a dirt road that headed towards our destination.   Our eyes were stunned by the scale of destruction. We felt like we were passing through a jungle of dust and rubble. For the next 25 kilometres, the scene remained the same.

A few communities near from the highway had received tents and food, but others, far from the main road, had been waiting for relief for days. And even though the people had already salvaged wooden planks, stones, bricks and possessions on the road side, they did not have tents, enough food and medicine.

On our way, we met a team from the Nepal Army, who informed us that we could only go as far as Kattike and that Golche had been rendered inaccessible by the disaster. They escorted us to Kattike, to prevent the relief material from being looted by the desperate people.

On reaching Kattike, we found ourselves surrounded by over 1,000 people, who had come from Golche and other villages in hope of aid. The situation grew tense and we were forced to take help from the army personnel.

At last, with the help of the police and army, we were able to distribute the material to 200 families from Golche. We felt helpless that we couldn’t support the rest. But on our way back, we were relieved to see that there were several more trucks heading up that way with the relief material.

Our ad hoc group of volunteers has been working for the last ten days to support earthquake survivors in various villages in Kavre, Sindupalchowk, Makwanpur and Nuwakot districts. Our team comprises former students of Kathmandu University, young entrepreneurs and educators, all of whom have come together with the single objective of helping the people in need. We were all terrorised by the massive quake, but since we were lucky enough to survive the disaster, we felt that it was our duty to help others.

Shrestha is with Jai Nepal Youth Group