Only one my sisters and I were at home. My father, mother and sister had gone to their offices. My school was closed on that day because there was no diesel and the school bus could not come. In the afternoon I went outside and played for a long time. When I returned home, I slipped and fell down on the floor and it pained a lot. I tried to stand couldn’t. Then, I called my sister and told her to call our parents.

My parents and sister could not come quickly as there was no diesel and petrol. There were very few vehicles plying in the Valley.

After a some time, I don’t remember when, my parents came. But they could not take me to the hospital because there was no diesel in the ambulance too.

Then my parents called my brother who is a doctor. He checked me up and told me to rest for two weeks and gave me some medicine.

For two weeks I could not go to school or walk properly.

If there is scarcity of diesel or petrol again, we will not be able to do so many things. So I request people not to waste diesel, to utilise it very properly so that others do not have to face the same problem as I did.

— Saurav Bhattarai, Class V, Pathshala Nepal Foundation