*On normal days, Rohit Tandukar hones skills with rugby team mates. But since Tuesday, he has been at the Bir Hospital, the Himalayan nation's oldest medical facility.*
The national-level rugby player has been attending to patients, helping them fill up forms, moving them to their wards as the hospital was flooded with those injured in the 7.9 magnitude earthquake.
As Nepal's over-stretched emergency response teams struggled with relief operations, the city's youth rose to the occasion and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with medicos in hospitals and army personnel at historical sites helping clear the debris.
College students, tourists, queued up at the Hanuman Dhoka temple complex, a Unesco World Heritage Site, to help out the army and police personnel in clearing up the debris. Bricks from the collapsed temples were neatly stacked up on one side, while intricately carved wood blocks were carefully placed one over the other.
None of the team members had a background in archaelogy, but each brick was placed with care with the hope that the temples, now in ruins, could be restored to their earlier glory.
"We have come here on our own. We got to know that volunteers were required and hence turned up to help," said Satyam, a student of the AJW College as he passed on a brick handed over to him to the person standing next to him.
At the Bir Hospital, doctors were all praise of the motley group of volunteers that has been helping out with the patients since Sunday.
Sudan Gurung, a 28-year-old owner of a popular night club, discovered his leadership skills after the earthquake. A fervent appeal by him on social networking sites saw his clients, including rich businessmen open up their purse strings for relief operations.
The word-of-mouth publicity also helped. High school students Sarang, Dipika, Kishan and Suprati turned up at the Bir Hospital to help in relief operations. "I was at the police station to secure the release of my friend who was caught drunk by the police when the quake struck," Gurung told Deccan Herald. He said he rushed those injured at the police station to the hospital and has been here ever since.
"On Saturday, I was alone. Today we are a 400-strong force of volunteers and growing. We are now sending teams to different parts of Kathmandu to help with relief work," he said. Reported by Deccan Herald 2 hours ago.
The national-level rugby player has been attending to patients, helping them fill up forms, moving them to their wards as the hospital was flooded with those injured in the 7.9 magnitude earthquake.
As Nepal's over-stretched emergency response teams struggled with relief operations, the city's youth rose to the occasion and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with medicos in hospitals and army personnel at historical sites helping clear the debris.
College students, tourists, queued up at the Hanuman Dhoka temple complex, a Unesco World Heritage Site, to help out the army and police personnel in clearing up the debris. Bricks from the collapsed temples were neatly stacked up on one side, while intricately carved wood blocks were carefully placed one over the other.
None of the team members had a background in archaelogy, but each brick was placed with care with the hope that the temples, now in ruins, could be restored to their earlier glory.
"We have come here on our own. We got to know that volunteers were required and hence turned up to help," said Satyam, a student of the AJW College as he passed on a brick handed over to him to the person standing next to him.
At the Bir Hospital, doctors were all praise of the motley group of volunteers that has been helping out with the patients since Sunday.
Sudan Gurung, a 28-year-old owner of a popular night club, discovered his leadership skills after the earthquake. A fervent appeal by him on social networking sites saw his clients, including rich businessmen open up their purse strings for relief operations.
The word-of-mouth publicity also helped. High school students Sarang, Dipika, Kishan and Suprati turned up at the Bir Hospital to help in relief operations. "I was at the police station to secure the release of my friend who was caught drunk by the police when the quake struck," Gurung told Deccan Herald. He said he rushed those injured at the police station to the hospital and has been here ever since.
"On Saturday, I was alone. Today we are a 400-strong force of volunteers and growing. We are now sending teams to different parts of Kathmandu to help with relief work," he said. Reported by Deccan Herald 2 hours ago.