Eighteen-year-old Sofiya Khan is a high school graduate. She's leaving this June for higher education abroad. Recently she, along with her family, raised funds for earthquake victims in Rasuwa. The funds were taken there but she couldn't visit personally as she was unwell. These days, she's utilizing her free time by spending more time with her family."Whenever we're together, we feel secured. I try to make them feel that things will be alright so that not just them but even I can feel calm. Other times, we gossip and joke about the tremors. So in that way we heal each other," she says.
"I feel like I can only bring safety if I am safe. It first starts with you; you keep yourself and your family safe and then you move on to your neighbors and then to your community. You can also help by sharing information on Facebook and by spreading positivity," she adds.
Manish Kadel, 21, is a student of Chartered Accountancy. Busy preparing for his board exam due this July, he says, "I'm sleep deprived since I'm required to sleep in a congested area. Concentrating on my studies is next to impossible with aftershocks occurring every now and then. But despite that, I still feel like I'm growing in some ways--the quake is a learning experience and it has helped me grow stronger as a person." It has helped him understand life and its challenges in a different light, he says.
Assisting in the relief program by linking volunteers with an organization via Facebook, Manish is also happy for being able to spend quality time with his family--something that he "doesn't often get to do".
"When I'm with them, there is a sense of harmony and tranquility in the air and I feel like I am being able to help calm myself and my family," he shares.
Binayak Kuikel is a BBA 2nd semester student at Shanker Dev Campus. Since he is a BBA student, he does not often get to spend long holidays without any pending assignments. Apart from relief acts and social networking, he is enjoying his holidays by watching movies and reading his favorite novels. "Taking advantage of this leisure time, I have completed watching the whole series of the Game of Thrones till season 4; about 14 selected Hollywood movies, and currently reading Inferno, the Robert Langdon adventure with Mr. Dan Brown."
Swekshya Maharjan is an eighth grader at Arun Deep Academy, New Baneshwor. Currently she has been spending her time watching T.V. and trying her hand at stitching. Her mother runs a tailoring shop and these days she has been helping her mother with its execution. "While I was really stressed and frightened the whole week after the earthquake, I am more relaxed now. I have plenty of time to watch TV and spend time with mom," she says.
"I think it's nice to give mom company in such times because she was really scared after the earthquake and if I stay with her and talk to her, that helps her forget about the tremor. My mother says I am too young to go out and help other people, but I can always take care of my mom," she shared.
All in all, it comes down to what help really is. There are many ways of helping. One can help by writing a poem, creating positivity in the society or simply by cracking a joke for sad faces. Help should not be narrowed down to only few selected methods. It's a proud feeling as to how all youths are being a part of the solution one way or the other.
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