In the initial days after the first quake, over 2,000 people were taking refuge at Martyr’s Memorial Boarding High School, Gyaneshwor, which LaMeyer’s 73-year-old mother Gauri Rana Joshi has been operating for 47 years now.

Although the school building itself had suffered damage, it was providing shelter along with food and medical assistance to the people who were displaced. According to LaMeyer, Rs 80,000 had already been spent on food supplies alone.

LeMeyer had travelled to Gorkha after her return and had immediately identified the need of relief material in the area.

The hilly terrain, which had been rendered almost inaccessible by the quake, added to the challenge of providing aid.

“The only operating hospital in Gorkha had a single room with only one bed and almost nothing in the name of supplies,” says LaMeyer. The only option was to take the supplies by air. “I thought of all the mothers, children and elderly who must have been suffering. I returned to Kathmandu with my mother, determined to do whatever we could to help them,” says LaMeyer.

They rented a helicopter and airdropped 900 kg of supplies consisting of rice, salt, sugar, noodles and tents in Lho Gumba and 450 kg in Lapu of the district. All this, they did with the help of a team led by volunteer Pasang Lamu Sherpa and assisted by Max Khatri. After that, three more of such operations dubbed as Gorkha Air Relief were carried out.

Partly funded by American doctor Eduardo Dolhun, a second airdrop mission was conducted in Singal and Keraujabasi.

The third mission on May 7, thirteen days after the Great Earthquake, included five helicopter trips. A total of 450 kg of supplies was dropped in Laprak and in Khanigaun and 350 kg each in Samagaun, Bhandarigaun and Lho, respectively. The fourth and last airdrop mission was carried out in Barpak, Samjung, Thumi and Muchochok.

LaMeyer was assisted by her husband and her sister in the mission. She had managed to raise funds for the operation via fundraising website giveforward.com. LaMeyer had chipped in some money and people from her the current residence, Arlington in Boston, had helped by donating. So far, they have raised $19,000, but according to her, the relief mission has already cost her $25,462.

She is now back home to her family in Arlington and has set up an IT team to help and coordinate relief efforts in Nepal. LaMeyer, who had come to Nepal after eight years, says she had never thought she would have to travel to her hometown in such a situation.

 “I received immense love and support from Nepalese people,” she says. “Airdrop missions are quite expensive to carry out but I am glad that we did what we could. I only wish I could help other affected areas as well,” she adds.