Lessons from the Nepal quake

Chahat Rana got a confirmation to work with College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Nepal, little did she know that her summer internship was soon going to turn into relief work. Having spent 20 days in the earthquake hit area, Chahat, a Class XII student of Oakridge International School, worked with blood donation camps, interviewed locals and carried out disaster relief work.

Accompanied by her aunt, who is also a doctor, Chahat assumed she was well aware about the ground situation, having read numerous features about the troubled area. But nothing, admits the pre-med student, had prepared her for the ground reality. “Sitting in the serenity of my home, I had not fully understood the devastating aftermath of an earthquake of such magnitude. With their houses turned to rubble, they had nowhere to go but put up tents in the open grounds available in urban areas. Although it was almost 40 days after the quake, which took place on April 25, the fear in their eyes prevailed as if it was only yesterday. “Everyone here is anxious in anticipation of the next quake, they know that they’re sitting on a ticking time bomb, and are just waiting for it to explode,” says Chahat in an essay that she penned as part of her experience in Nepal, which she visited in June.

“I want to be a doctor and live in the US, where I grew up, and as part of my study, I wanted to work in a developing country such as Nepal and see what the medical conditions were like,” she says.

“It’s been nearly two months since the devastating earthquake in Nepal, yet the damage done will take years to revert. I was fortunate to be living in a decent hotel that provided basic amenities; even though there were eight-hour power cuts, no fans or AC. But it was easier to adjust as so many other people were in situations far worse than me,” says Chahat, a firm believer that “when you have received so much in life it’s only fair to give back to society”.

Now back in the city, she has no plans of slowing down. At school, Chahat has the perfect 4.0 GPA, she has been learning dance for the past seven years, is the founder of the NGO Theory of Change and is also one of the pioneers for the ‘LeanIn’ Hyderabad chapter for high school students.

“I have been part of charitable activities since Class IX where I would volunteer at government schools. Based on my experience, I realised that one of the main drawbacks in government schools is lack of sanitary facilities and availability of water,” says Chahat, who got together seven of her classmates to start the NGO. Recently, the group raised $6,000 (approximately '3 lakh), which is being used to construct a toilet and borewell at a school in Gachibowli.

“My father, Rishi Rana, came from Ranchi, a small town, and through years of struggle is now the MD of a software company in the US, and heads the Asia-Pacific branch. He is one my greatest inspirations to go all out and make the best use of every opportunity,” she says.