Photo: People wait to refill oxygen cylinders. Niranjan Shrestha | AP.
A global pandemic coupled with political turmoil may seem overwhelming, but many urban Nepali youth have risen to the occasion by networking to find essentials like oxygen, ventilators and hospital beds for patients in crisis. Having been schooled by the devastating earthquake of 2015, these youngsters are mobilizing support during the second wave of the pandemic through social media and online groups. It is the government's responsibility to deal with this, but if the government is not doing enough, we have to step up. It's a crisis, says Luna Ranjit, a member of the Covid Alliance for Nepal. Though she sees the efforts of the volunteer groups as haphazard in the absence of a coordinating vision, there is no denying that every voluntary effort counts in such a situation. As 20-year-old Khadka, who has a team of 150 volunteers across the country, says, If we save just one life, it's worth it.
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