Saurabh Rimal of Hattiwan loves animals very much. He used to feed the helpless cows, dogs and monkeys. After the first lockdown, he stayed at home. People started hearing the news of starvation when there was no work. He also found out that Mankari had helped him.
Then he went out of his house and looked around, and saw that the animal he loved was also hungry. There was no one to feed him.
Saurabh could not sit and watch it all. He made food at home and distributed it to the dogs around the toll. The mind did not calm down. Saying that there were many hungry animals in Kathmandu, he decided to go to the end. He took a brother and started distributing food in many places in Kathmandu.
‘We humans can say we are hungry or embarrassed. There is no one to speak for the animals, ‘said Saurabh, 34.’ So we have taken the responsibility of feeding him. ‘
His work, which started from the first lockdown, has not stopped till today. In one year, he is constantly feeding hungry people and animals along the way.
Initially, he went alone to distribute food, but now Saurabh has a team of nine.
Saurabh used to post photos and videos of his work on social media. Seeing her work, Alok Yonjan of Dalle Restaurant extended a helping hand and took charge of the food. At present, food is cooked and taken to the head office of Dalle in Ratopula. For dogs, they give meat, monkeys and cows fruits. Their main destinations are Singha Durbar, Putalisadak, Anamnagar, Baneshwor, Gongbu Bus Park, Bhrikuti Mandap and PepsiCola area of Bhaktapur.
“Some of our friends are acquaintances and some come to see our work and raise their hands,” said Saurabh.
Not everyone appreciates feeding street animals. According to Saurabh, some locals complain that it is dirty. Her team puts food on a magazine or on a paper plate. Later, they pick up all the paper bags and take them away.
“You shouldn’t think that food is dirty when the animal is hungry,” he says.
Saurabh was an animal lover since childhood. Seeing the condition of the animals on the road, he wanted to do something about his management. Now they are happy to feed these hungry animals.
“They have a kind of emotional connection with them now,” he says. As soon as they hear that our car is coming, they come running from a distance. We have become so close to them, now we don’t even think about giving food. ‘
When it rains, they go to the shelter and feed the animals. Saurabh and his team go out every day to prepare food, not to mention the sun.
Saurabh, who studied business at Stratford University in India, owns an IT company called Discovery City Private Limited. Although he is a business student, he says he is already active in social work.
So from the first lockdown, he has not stopped distributing food. Since he also had to pay attention to office work, he used to go to distribute food by arranging time. Two days before the second lockdown, Saurabh saw Corona. Isolation lasted for 16 days. As he took all the responsibility of distributing food, he stopped in the middle when he was not there.
“I was very nervous at that time,” he said.
Even though he was not able to distribute food during the isolation, he kept planning how to do it later. On the 17th day, after the corona came negative, they went out again with food. Corona had weakened the body but did not retreat.
In the middle of the second lockdown, a friend told Saurabh that there was a shortage of food in the Chepang settlement of Gorkha. He took food and clothes with his team to the Chepang settlement in Ichchakamana village municipality. Within the Kathmandu Valley alone, they have so far fed more than 5,000 hungry people.
“It is not a matter of showing help to others, it is a matter of feeling from one’s heart,” says Saurabh. But my friends who came later still carry food with me. ‘
Nitin Mani Rajbhandari is one of those who come with Saurabh to feed the animals. Nitin knew Saurabh through a friend.
‘There was no work in the lockdown. At that time, I found out that Saurabh needed a friend, ‘said Nitin.’ I came to distribute food for a day or two. I had never experienced the joy of feeding an animal before. I am always coming now. I have made up my mind not to give up this job even after opening the lockdown. ‘
Saurabh has also made up his mind not to give up this job. This work is being done with the support of ‘K Foundation Global’ established by Nepalis living in the United States. Saurabh said that he will continue to work for the rescue of stray animals and welfare of children with the help of the foundation.
“Many other people are also starving and feeding the animals,” he says. Everyone should help. ‘
He added, ‘Both disease and suffering can be conquered by love. So if you give a little food to someone around you who is hungry, their hunger will be quenched. Your mind also gets satisfaction. ‘
