PAST STUDENT

In May 2014 I left a partnership in a successful Irish law firm to take a year out to see the world. My trip began in Northern Spain where I walked part of the Camino de Santiago over the Pyrenees with my father and his friends. It was a great way to start my trip, spending some quality time with my father. En route I expressed my wish to do some charity work on my trip. Little did I know that before the year had passed, I would have experienced earthquakes, huge devastation and loss of life and would have co-founded a charity.

After Spain I travelled through the US, Canada, South America, Australia, Japan, India and South East Asia, visiting places of majestic beauty, learning about many diverse cultures, riding elephants through jungles and making some incredible friends.

A last minute decision to travel to Nepal with a friend, Justin, in early April 2015 to hike to Everest Base Camp with absolutely no planning or alpine gear might seem like a hapless idea to many but we felt that what we lacked in training, we would make up in enthusiasm and drive. Suited up in appropriate gear a few days later we commenced our voyage from Lukla airport, a precarious airstrip cut into the Himalayas at 2600m. The eight-day hike to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres (17,598 ft) was arduous, with the thin Himalayan air making steep gradients seem almost vertical at times, but the extraordinary scenery was beyond compare. We had thought that the descent would be a rewarding proverbial cake walk. Little did we know..

Two days down from Everest Base Camp and still at a heady 4400m, I stopped to take a photo. A minute later, hundreds of birds suddenly flew up from the valley below and dogs began to howl. Piercing screams followed. The ground beneath us became like jelly. We watched the path and the mountain in front of us being swallowed up by the earth and did not know whether we would be next. We hiked 40km over 2 days to reach Lukla and en route witnessed several landslides as aftershocks continued to hit and wreak severe damage. Our initial plan was to rent a car to drive to Northern India and fly from there to a safe zone as few planes were leaving Kathmandu.

On returning to Kathmandu we saw death and destruction everywhere. We felt compelled to act as we had seen established organisations keen to help but hamstrung by local red tape. Justin and I founded the Acts of Kindness Collective (�AOKC�) - a charity committed to helping those in need at times of disaster and adversity. We began an online campaign to raise funds and awareness of the plight of the Nepalese people through Facebook and LinkedIn, using the Go Fund Me Charity portal to raise funds. The response was overwhelming. By the end of the first day AOKC had raised nearly US$15,000.

My family was initially concerned about my decision to remain but then supported it wholeheartedly, publicizing our charity, holding coffee mornings, spreading the word in the local churches etc.

We primarily aligned ourselves with a group of Nepalese restaurateurs who could buy rice and other supplies at wholesale prices. (US$7 bought a 25kg bag of rice which would feed a family of 5 for a month.) That group were also able to provide trucks, manpower and had the necessary connections to source armed police escorts when required.

The extraordinary benevolence of our friends all over the world who gave so generously to the Acts of Kindness Collective helped fund this group and other local groups.

AOKC�s initial missions were to the hard hit and remote Dolacha and Sindhupalchowk regions in the Himalayas. Accompanied by a police escort and with army assistance, we initially distributed 30 tons of rice which would feed 5,000 people for a month. We also set up together a pop-up medical centre to treat the sick and distributed medical supplies.

The scenes we witnessed were harrowing. The roads were often lined with starving, injured, and panic stricken villagers. Many had not eaten for 2 weeks and had slept without shelter from the harsh Himalayan night as many roads had been blocked since the first quake.

One village resembled the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. 140 had died. Many had lost several family members. Though the community had been decimated, we saw glimmers of hope as kids began to laugh and play amongst the rubble. We saw extraordinary fortitude and resilience as the elders of the village told us that while their hearts had been broken, they were doing everything they could to support their bereft children and grandchildren. While many villagers had little or no food and had lost all of their meagre possessions, all of them welcomed us in to their makeshift tin shack homes as if we were family, to eat, chat and take tea. They were also keen to ensure that other villages would receive aid also. Grown men cried tears of relief as we showed them how to make tents. Their appreciation and sense of kinship and community was overwhelming.

All missions were treacherous, with landslides and daily aftershocks being an ever present risk, but at all stages I was buoyed up by the immense support I received from my family and friends through texts and emails. The wise words of a priest from my old school who often spoke of the importance of caring and �being there� for others echoed in my mind daily.

A further 7.3 quake hit on May 13, only 20k from our primary relief zone. Fear and panic returned. Many already impaired homes crumbled into loose rubble. Those whose homes remained standing were afraid to return to them. 9,000 had died at this stage and 2.8 million were displaced.

We knew that the imminent monsoon rains would render transport of aid to the remote, hard hit regions next to impossible. Dramatic action was needed. Together with our well connected Nepalese friends I lobbied the Indian and Nepalese Governments to borrow the biggest army helicopter available. We implored them to help as we feared that many would die if rice and shelter did not reach them before the rains came. Well if you don�t ask..

Our request was granted and I soon I found myself in the cargo hold of an enormous Indian army helicopter gliding through steep Himalayan valleys, witnessing broken bridges and roads covered by huge mounds of rubble below. Over the course of a weekend, we delivered enough rice for 8,000 people for a month, together with tarpaulin, solar lights and medical supplies.

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our friends across the world, we raised USD$100,000 with further committed funds en route. To date AOKC has helped purchase rice for approximately 25,000 people for a month, temporary shelter for the same amount, several days of medical camps and paid for an operation for an orphaned child. AOKC paid for 16 men to receive training in making homes made of ferro concrete that can withstand further quakes or monsoon rains.

Building works were impossible during the monsoon season but AOKC now plans to fund the re-building of homes and to support other worthwhile projects over the coming months. Though media interest in Nepal has sadly waned, Nepal�s need for funds to assist in the re-building process sadly remains grave.

After 15 months travelling, I was delighted to return to Ireland in August to spend some time with my family and have now moved to the US to explore new opportunities.

If you wish to learn more about the Acts of Kindness Collective please see the Facebook page of that name

EOIN CUNNEEN