“I tested negative after 16 days of isolation and treatment. On day 17, I was on the road feeding dogs.”
KATHMANDU, June 1: When people confined themselves to their houses closing businesses, markets and restaurants, to stay protected from COVID-19, streets people and animals were the one to suffer the most. There was no place for them to go. However, not everyone chose to stay indoors.
Saurav Rimal, a Kathmandu-based entrepreneur, began to feed street people and animals. He went outdoors every day, risking his own life providing food to street dogs, cows, monkeys and pigeons.
“Street animals and people were dying. Someone had to do something and I chose to be that someone,” Rimal said.
Every Street Dog Needs Its Rights
Rimal also took an initiative to provide food and other essentials to daily wage workers, deprived communities and LGBTQ communities. “The lockdown claimed their sources of income. The government was not willing to do anything except extending the lockdown to curb COVID-19,” said Rimal.
Rimal, who was involved in this social work from the beginning of the pandemic, caught COVID-19 this time in the second wave. “I was prepared for it and knew that I would survive and I did,” said Rimal. “I tested negative after 16 days of isolation and treatment. On day 17, I was on the road feeding dogs.”
In the beginning, Saurav used to cook whatever he could in his own house and feed around 20 to 30 dogs a day. No one was there to help him. But these days, there are volunteers to help him. The team is feeding more than 150 dogs a day, not only dogs but also cows, monkeys and pigeons.
“I began to appeal for help on social media. It took time but people began to support me for this cause. These days, I am feeding street animals and people in partnership with the Koirala Foundation,” Rimal maintained.
Rimal has extended helping hands not only during the pandemic but always. He has also been providing schools with sport materials. “I wish to see our youths representing Nepal on the international platform through sports in the coming days,” said Rimal.
It is the people like Rimal who can make a difference in society and prove that COVID-19 cannot beat humanity.
