Nepalese mum dreams of reunion

Mamta Khanal hopes she can get her son out of Nepal so he can live safely in Tauranga with her. Photo / Ruth Keber

Mamta Khanal dreams of the day she will see her son again, give him a hug and tell him he no longer has to sleep on the street and be afraid of the ever-shaking ground.

The Nepalese woman has lived in Tauranga with her husband for the past year, but their 3-year-old son, Prashith, remains in Kathmandu where multiple earthquakes have brought down their home around him.

Prashith lives with his grandparents but since the earthquake they have been sleeping on the street, from fear their house will collapse on top of them.

Mrs Khanal told the Bay of Plenty Times it broke her heart to see her family on Skype.

"When I see my son, he cries and says 'Mum, when can I come to New Zealand?'."

She moved to New Zealand in March 2014 to study and build a better life for her family and planned that their son would join them when he turned 5.

Her student visa meant she could only work 20 hours a week and her husband Pradip Sapkota could not work until his visitor visa was upgraded to a work visa. Once he was working fulltime they could afford to bring their son out, she said.

"I want to take care of everyone but first I am a mother.

"When I see him first time I'll hug him so tight. I miss him so much and I'll give him lots of chocolate because he loves chocolate."

They would work and send money home to their families, she said. It was hard to talk via Skype because it was so upsetting to hear what they were going through and not be able to help, she said.

"I can't see them in this trouble when I can't help them.

"I want to help them because they are all my responsibility.

"When I see my house and see how they are sleeping on the floor under the open sky, I get very sad and can't talk to them."

It was hard to know exactly how bad it was because Nepalese people did not like to share their problems, she said.

"I feel so bad that the pride of Nepalese people is gone. Our temples, our historical places, especially Mount Everest is the pride of the Nepalese people."

Despite the loss of their house, Mrs Khanal said she was thankful to still have her family and prayed for them every day.

"Some people have lost everything - their home, their mother, their son."