After selling his house to go on a trip of lifetime, Richard Bayfield from Gravesend never anticipated he would find himself stuck in Nepal.

But instead of focussing on what he could no longer do, the grandfather set about joining a small team of people who are helping feed some of the country's most vulnerable residents.

Like many others across the world, Richard, 51, has found himself staying for longer than anticipated thousands of miles away from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard left his home in Wellington Street in August last year after he quit his job as an architect.

The first leg of his travels saw him trek through Nepal. He spent time at a Buddhist monastery and raised money to build a school in the country's capital, Kathmandu.

He went on to India and Sri Lanka, and returned to Nepal in January. He wanted to climb Island Peak, a 6,189m (20,305ft) mountain in the Himalayas.

Richard had almost reached Everest Base Camp from which he would begin his climb, but news began coming through that buses and Jeeps had stopped travelling to the area because of coronavirus.

He said: "We had got to a town called Namche Bazaar which is quite famous in trekking circles and a gathering point for most Everest expeditions when we decided to head back to Lukla where there is an airport and would then fly back to Kathmandu.

"The day after we arrived at Lukla, lockdown was announced and all air travel stopped.

"I was stuck in Lukla for five days awaiting a flight, the British embassy did very little at this time other than take a list of names.

"Eventually we were flown back to Kathmandu on a flight put on by the Nepalese government. The information available from the embassy was pretty much non-existent.

"I returned back to the hostel I had been staying in in Kathmandu where there was a wonderful community spirit with everyone pitching in to keep the place running, cooking meals and cleaning.

"Again the information from the British embassy was pretty scarce and us Brits were the laughing stock due to their inaction and lack of information.

"During this time a friend asked me to come and join the food project, Lockdown Lunches."

The Nepalese government called for the country to go into lockdown on Tuesday, March 24.

This is expected to go on until at least Thursday, May 7. The government has suspended all international flights and specially-arranged flights to the UK have now ceased.

The lockdown measures in the country aim to restrict people's movements except for food and medical reasons.

The Foreign Office has reported how Nepalese police are detaining people who are judged to be undertaking non-essential journeys.

Permissions for mountaineering expeditions for the Spring season were also suspended.

So far the country has seen 54 confirmed cases and no deaths.

Richard, a grandfather-of-three, said: "Many hotels in the Thamel district in Kathmandu have been offering free food to stranded tourists but excluding locals.

"This seemed completely wrong so we decided to start cooking for the local migrant and daily workers who now had no means of earning money or feeding themselves during lockdown.

"Initially we were serving four sites from one kitchen, now a sister project has sprung up in a nearby hostel and we share the sites.

"We cook 300 hot meals for our two sites which we transfer to the distribution points on the back of motorbikes.

"We work with the local community leaders to ensure that the food gets to the right people.

"Unfortunately this isn’t always possible; two days ago news was relayed to us that one of the residents at Tengal Chwok, one of the communities we deliver to, had died from starvation ad malnutrition.

"They lived alone and hadn’t been able to get to our delivery for two or three days.

"There were obviously underlying issues in this case, but malnutrition is a major issue in the poorer communities here and it brought home just how vulnerable to communities we serve are.

"To date we have served over 5,000 hot meals.

"Nothing can prepare you for seeing a line of people queuing for perhaps the only hot meal they will have that day.

"Mothers carrying babies, barefoot kids as young as three or four, the elderly and lame all stood respectfully in lie waiting to be served.

"It was an emotional shock and as I handed out the cartons of food I had to fight back the tears.

"The one site that will always stay with me is a construction project to build a new bridge over one of Kathmandu’s rivers that had ground to a halt during lockdown.

"The main contractor had left abandoning all of the labourers, leaving them with no fresh water, food or any means of returning to their villages.

"They were forced to sleep rough under the partially-constructed bridge adjacent to a stinking, heavily-polluted river.

"Some of them had not eaten or drunk anything for two or three days. The relief and gratitude on their faces when we turned up with food and water was heart warming.

"Initially I was intent on getting home. As soon as the first repatriation flights were announced, I registered with the embassy.

"However the food project, Lockdown Lunches, caused me to completely re-evaluate my plans.

"I couldn’t face leaving the people I have been helping and have decided to stay in Nepal until lockdown is over and the food relief we provide is no longer needed."

To find out more about Lockdown Lunches and donate to their fundraising page, click here.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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