It Started With Showing Up.

The initial focus was immediate relief — establishing a base of operations, mobilising volunteers and arranging essential relief materials for communities affected by the disaster.

Approximately 574 relief dispatches were carried out. Importantly, each dispatch was accompanied by a volunteer. The objective was therefore not simply to distribute materials, but to have people present, understand what was happening on the ground and connect with affected communities.

But relief was only the beginning.

From Relief to Rehabilitation

As the immediate emergency began to settle, the focus shifted towards rebuilding. Approximately 1,053 homes were constructed, with each home representing an investment of at least NPR 15,000+. The work was carried out in an exceptionally short period of approximately three to four months.

The approach was designed to scale. Volunteers helped construct the first few homes and then worked with members of the local community to participate in building additional homes themselves. This meant that the community was not simply receiving assistance — people were becoming part of the rebuilding process.

The model allowed the effort to expand rapidly and demonstrated an important lesson: a community that can participate in rebuilding can rebuild far more than an outside team ever could alone.

Helping Hands Nepal continued beyond the earthquake as a sustained organisation rather than a one-time relief effort. Chirag was one of its most consistent members. He brought friends and family into the effort and played an important role in motivating and sustaining the volunteer community.

Over time, Helping Hands moved towards responding to case-by-case requests, including medical assistance, education, surgeries, individual humanitarian needs and community support. Each request was assessed according to the circumstances and supported where possible.

The model in Nepal evolved to fit the local context. Rather than simply distributing surplus food directly to people on the streets, the focus was on connecting surplus providers with organisations already working with communities in need.

The basic connection became:

Surplus → Organisation → People in Need

Businesses, organisations and individuals with surplus food or resources could connect directly with organisations that could put those resources to meaningful use. But the work went beyond food.

Make a Wish — One of the initiatives was the Make a Wish project. Children's wishes were collected around Christmas and efforts were made to fulfil those wishes around Christmas Eve.

Other initiatives focused on children, food, humanitarian assistance and community support.

The experience demonstrated how much can be achieved when ordinary people are given a simple way to contribute and work together.

The response began very personally: Chirag offered his own home as a quarantine centre.

That decision also revealed another dimension of crisis response. Fear and misinformation meant that even well-intentioned efforts could create anxiety within communities. There was neighbourhood concern and misunderstanding about what operating a quarantine facility could mean.

The response therefore moved beyond simply providing a physical space. It became about finding practical ways to help while navigating health concerns, community fears, movement restrictions, medical requirements, essential supplies and coordination with people on the ground.

As the situation evolved, the response expanded into other areas and communities.

The work brought research, engagement and practical support closer together and focused on learning what people actually needed before deciding what should happen next.

The project reached 1,673 citizens and 1,500 students.

The experience strengthened a principle that continues to shape Chirag's work: a response is more useful when it is grounded in the reality of the people receiving it.

The Forum's broader focus was youth and women empowerment, entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for young people.

As President, Chirag focused on bringing entrepreneurship and opportunity awareness into colleges and educational institutions.

Students were encouraged to participate in entrepreneurship and startup award programmes. These initiatives were designed not simply to recognise ideas, but to give promising young entrepreneurs meaningful exposure and, where possible, seed funding to help turn ideas into ventures.

The objective was broader than an awards programme. It was about exposing young people to entrepreneurship, encouraging them to think differently about their futures and creating practical opportunities to act on their ideas.

The experience reinforced the importance of creating opportunities rather than simply talking about them — particularly for young people and women who may not otherwise have access to networks, knowledge or capital.

It brought together experiences from Nepal with ideas, entrepreneurs and perspectives from a broader international community.

The experience offered an opportunity to see how entrepreneurs and young leaders in different countries approach common challenges, while also bringing Nepal's own perspective into a global conversation.

It reinforced the importance of learning beyond one's immediate environment and understanding how local challenges connect to wider conversations around entrepreneurship and leadership.

NCPL was created with a related but distinct objective — preparing people for leadership and public service.

The underlying belief was simple: people who may one day enter politics, become national or community leaders, serve the country or take responsibility for public resources should have access to the right information, ethical grounding and a basic understanding of leadership.

Building a Foundation for Leadership

NCPL developed a curriculum and short course providing participants with foundational knowledge in leadership, public service, governance, resource management, public responsibility and the responsibilities associated with leading a country or community.

The intention was never to suggest that a short course could make someone a complete leader. Instead, it was designed to provide a foundation from which participants could continue learning and developing.

Another important objective was to encourage more people to consider civil service and public leadership as possible pathways for both career and service.

Learning From Different Perspectives

NCPL intentionally brought together people from different political backgrounds and experiences. They contributed as mentors, coaches, trainers, guest lecturers and programme contributors.

The diversity was deliberate. Participants were exposed to different perspectives rather than being taught leadership through a single political or ideological lens. The objective was to encourage participants to think critically about what leadership means, what public service requires and what responsibility comes with managing public resources.

NCPL continues to grow, with its fundamental objective remaining: to provide better resources, knowledge and exposure to people who aspire to leadership and public service.

This chapter represents another evolution of the journey — from helping people in moments of crisis to helping prepare people who may one day be responsible for leading communities and institutions.

We collected relief materials, mainly solar lights, power banks and food items, and used a drone system to distribute them in coordination with Hami Nepal.

The response reinforced the importance of coordination during an emergency — understanding the immediate need, working with people who know the situation on the ground, and using whatever practical means are available to reach people safely.

Hami Nepal’s coordination was central to the response.

In collaboration with the Goyal Foundation and Junior Empowerment Circle, Project Kuhiro supports deserving students from rural Nepal who are pursuing higher education in Kathmandu.

The idea is straightforward: a student's potential should not be determined by where they were born or whether their family has the resources to support their education.

The project seeks to provide deserving students with the support and opportunity they need to continue their educational journey.

The same volunteers kept showing up. Friends and family kept contributing. Businesses offered resources. Professionals offered expertise. Communities identified needs. People continued to ask one simple question: How can I help?

The willingness was already there. What was missing was a way to bring these people, resources and capabilities together consistently.

That became the idea behind Ekjut Nepal.

From Individual Action to Collective Action

Ekjut is not the beginning of Chirag's social-impact journey. It is the next chapter of it.

It brings together the lessons from more than a decade of work:

• Relief taught the importance of responding.
• Rehabilitation taught the importance of community participation.
• Volunteerism showed the power of ordinary people.
• COVID demonstrated the value of trusted connections.
• Entrepreneurship showed the importance of opportunity.
• NCPL reinforced the importance of preparing people to lead.
• Education demonstrated the long-term power of opening doors.

Ekjut brings these experiences together into one idea: Nepal does not lack people who want to help. What is often missing is a way to bring those people, resources and capabilities together effectively.

Ekjut aims to become that platform — a community where people can contribute their time, skills, resources, expertise, ideas, networks and organisations, and where genuine needs can find the people capable of responding to them.