YASH'S STORY

I remember my first encounter with the wonderful and enigmatic being that is Yashashwi Shahi Thakuri. Hilarious stories preceded him wherever he went, but meeting the real deal was quite another matter.

Immediately upon meeting Yash he displayed a vicious sense of humor and quick wit; a solid grounding for our friendship. I was introduced to him on a big concrete pour day and while we all got stuck into work, Yash did so while dishing out an array of ridiculous insults. There was never any malice in his words, he was simply a larger than life character welcoming you in his own unique manner. Later on I learned Yash was still a teenager and yet it was clear he was at ease in all company - something which I believe is actually an incredible skill even if it comes naturally

A year prior to our meeting Nepal had been through the trauma of suffering a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake - the worst to hit the region in more than 80 years. A further 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit a mere 12 days later, while hundreds of aftershocks meant residents continued to live in fear and distress. The devastation is practically impossible to grasp the scale of, especially those of us from outside the country. More than 8,700 lives were lost and at least 22,000 people were injured, while thousands of schools were also destroyed. A slice of fortune - if it can been called that - was that the disaster occurred on a Saturday when children were not at school.

From the rubble came numerous heartbreaking and empowering stories. Yash’s was one that I was able to hear firsthand. Yash was savage with his banter, but this was just the exterior of an incredibly intelligent guy, and it made it all the more shocking to listen to him when he opened up about his own story. It was clear that there lingered some difficult memories of experiencing the horror of the earthquake that devastated his homeland. What made his story even more remarkable was the clarity and dignity with which he had responded personally. Within days of the destruction he refused to be bowed and was lending himself to relief efforts not just in his own community but also in the districts around Kathmandu.

His humour made him a firm favorite on the work site and in the community, as did his dedication to the project. By the time the school builds were finished he had spent almost 10 months volunteering away from his home city, helping his countrymen and women.

What also struck me about this ‘city bitch’ as used to call himself was how he developed, learned new skills and became a key player in practically everything that occurred on the project, happily putting himself forward for any task.

As the project neared the end it was clear to see how important this ‘home’ in the mountains had become to Yash. He spoke of uncertainty of what to do with his life, about potential university degrees, working in a staff role for NGOs and much more. He was 17 when the earthquake hit and having done so much to respond positively and selflessly for his community it was time to focus deservedly on himself again.

But how special the project, the community, the organization and the friendships made were to Yash was neatly summed up in one of the most powerful goodbye speeches ever seen on the project. Standing up in front of all his peers he retold the horrors of the earthquake, talked of his passion for helping his country and also those less fortunate around the world. He cried, we all cried and then there just was a silence. In the midst of focusing on the rebuilding work he took everybody back to the root of why they were all there.

Later, I grabbed Yash to simply say a few words and give him a hug when he wasn’t surrounded like a Hollywood star. I would like to say we both said something poignant, and in keeping of this account of our friendship and the work we did together, but in truth I cannot remember what it was. In all likelihood it was along the lines of ‘thank you’ and then some sort of sassy insult before we sunk a beer and prepared for one of our last days in Nepal together.