'Mud and dust” and 'chaos and sadness”. These are first-hand observations of what remains of the rickety and now ruined ancient city of Kathmandu, what remains of homes, people and families.

Sujan Shrestha's home and family.

Catching news from home – Nepalese students Sushil Achavya, Sujan Shresha and Savoj K.C. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

And in a Tauranga backpackers – about 12,000km from the epicentre of last week's disastrous earthquake – the 20-year-old IT graduate is torn.

Should he go home? 'I would become just another mouth to feed in at home in Kathmandu.”

Should he stay? 'I have a visa and I have a job. I can make money to support them back home.”

Sujan answers his own questions. But he still has his own issues – sleeplessness, nightmares and anxieties – his own personal seismic waves.

'I desperately want to go home, but it's all gone. Just memories.”

Sujan's week has been marked with emotional time flags.

At 9pm Saturday he hears the word Kathmandu on the radio as he works the forecourt at a local gas station. His home is in ruins, with 2000, 3000, 6000 and now as many as 10,000 people dead in a 7.8 earthquake.

'When I listened I went out of my mind. It was by far the worst thing that's has happened in my life.”

At 10pm Saturday, he makes frantic calls home. 'I couldn't get through. It was a horrible time.”

At 1am Sunday, Sujan makes contact. 'My Father only had time to say: ‘Don't worry, we're safe'. Then it cut out.

At 3am Sunday, he contacts younger sister Shova. 'She was in tears. I can't express how I felt – they were feelings from deep inside.”

His family is now living in safety – on the street.

Then, as we talk, a gutless and despicable act. A gift of $11 sitting in a donation box on the counter of an inner city backpackers – home to Sujan and a clutch of other Nepalese students – is nicked by an opportunist thief.

It was the beginnings of a student fundraiser – a little help money – then it was gone.

Tauranga had been sadly let down. But Sujan and his mates are unfazed.

'New Zealand has been very kind, very supportive.” They remember NZ let them in to study when other countries rejected them. Good faith is intact.

But to right a wrong, The Weekend Sun team gives the students $20. The donation box is reimbursed and all is good again.

Sujan and fellow Nepalese students are back dealing with a bigger issue. They have all agreed to give a day's wages to kick-start the fundraiser. Working adult Nepalese are asked for a $100 minimum, more if they can afford it.

The students ignore possible recrimination back home by warning about corruption. 'We don't want to sound mean but we want the money to go to the Red Cross so it ends up where it's needed – not into a Swiss bank account.”

Tauranga can help our Nepalese students by giving to the Nepalese Association in New Zealand. The bank account is 06-0453-0214508-31. Or visit https://givealittle.co.nz/donate/cause/help4nepal15