At least 20 young girls between the of ages 4 and 20 are preparing food and first aid kits that will be distributed to those who have been impacted by the Nepal earthquake, People Magazine reported.
The girls, who are part of the Unatti Foundation, are cooking rice and lentils for thousands of survivors in the Bhaktapur region. They are making sure that those who are injured are also looked after.
Stephanie Waisler-Rubin, the foundation's founder and president, said that before the earthquake, the group recently received a lot of donations, including first aid kits. The girls took initiative to distribute to critical places, as rescue teams and other relief operations have not been able to provide the much-needed assistance yet. Ramesh Pradhananga, executive director of the Unatti Foundation said on the group's Facebook page that "no one has come to help, not even the government."
The Unnati Foundation has been in the region for more than a decade to teach and empower the local children. Its beneficiaries are underprivileged girls who are sent to the best schools, courtesy of the foundation's donors.
At the height of the rescue and relief operations in other areas, the girls thought it would be best to help out within the community.
"All of my employees are doing community service efforts, putting up tents, buying rice and lentils, and the older children in our care are cooking for over 2,000 people in the Kathmandu valley," Waisler-Rubin said, according to People.
"I have a lot of Girl Scout troops doing silver and bronze projects in the [Los Angeles] area, and they donated first aid kids and medicine," she added, saying that one of the girls is a 20-year-old who is on her way to graduating nursing school.
Waisler-Rubin confirmed that many locals are still fearful about going back to their houses, as the 7.9 magnitude quake, which happened over the weekend, has been followed by strong aftershocks.
"They don't have seismic experts on the ground yet to be able to tell people if it's safe or not," Waisler-Rubin added.
Reuters reported that the death toll in the Nepal earthquake could reach 10,000.
