Backpackers refuse flight to help Nepalese

They arrived in Nepal as backpackers a day before a deadly earthquake that flattened large swaths of this impoverished Himalayan nation. 

In the days since the disaster, they’ve transformed themselves into a two-man amateur aid agency.

Using funds pledged through a Facebook appeal, Pedro Queiros and Lourenco Macedo Santos are taking food and bedding to needy Nepalis made homeless by the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck outside Kathmandu shortly before noon on April 25.

In a country where dozens of the world’s biggest aid agencies are now active, the two Portuguese men, both in their mid-30s, say their work shows there is room for ordinary people to make a difference. So far they estimate they’ve helped around 15,000 people.

Earlier this week, they arrived at the devastated village of Ichangu Narayan near Kathmandu, where residents lined up to receive supply bundles, including rice, oil and other staples, designed to feed a family for about 15 days.

Amid the wrecked buildings of the tiny farming village, the atmosphere was almost festive as sacks of food were distributed to representatives of the village’s 130 families.

“These people are grateful to you all. Thank you,” headman NK Prasai told the men.

They started small until Queiros posted an appeal and his bank details on his Facebook page. Since then, thousands of euro have poured in from ordinary Portuguese moved by the suffering of tens of thousands of Nepalis.

The money helped them to move beyond scraping together a little rice and bananas for a few individuals. Now they’re closer to a small grassroots organisation, hiring taxis to cart sacks of food to some of the worst-hit villages.

They estimate they’ve spent around €10,000 on supplies so far. When the earth first shook, their impulse was to leave Nepal but they couldn’t get on a plane. And they saw snaking lines of people lining up for food.

“We made a difference,” said Santos. “We couldn’t turn our backs to the people because we could do something for them. We had the money, so we choose to stay.”

“If there’s any kind of suspicion about the money, I can guarantee you that nothing is going to happen,” said Queiros.