A KEIGHLEY charity worker is back from a harrowing aid trip to Earthquake-stricken Nepal.

Abdul Ahad, from Lawkholme, who is a trustee of the charity Al-Imdaad Foundation UK, travelled to the country earlier this month.

Nepal was hit by the devastating earthquake on April 25. It left at least 9,000 dead and millions homeless. A severe aftershock on May 12 killed dozens more people.

Mr Ahad, 32, was part of a UK charity delegation which joined members of Al-Imdaad Foundation’s Bangladesh branch at the epicentre of the quake.

He said: “Large numbers of the population are now living on the streets as buildings have been destroyed or remain dangerous due to threat of collapse.

“This has been made even more difficult by heavy rain and night-time temperatures of just three degrees centigrade.”

He added that he and his colleagues were responsible for overseeing a number of humanitarian relief operations in villages and localities badly affected by the earthquake.

“We spent the first day procuring and packaging relief aid, using the Bangladeshi embassy in Kathmandu as our base,” he said.

“On May 5 we set off for Gorkha district, 80 kilometres outside Kathmandu. The journey was very difficult as the roads had been split and damaged in many locations, which limited access to villages.

“The small village of Barpak, in Gorkha district, was the site of the epicentre and the destruction in this district was especially tragic. We witnessed great numbers of injured people.

“The Gorkha area is a mainly Muslim Nepalese ethnic area, where the people lived in incredibly impoverished conditions even before the earthquake.

“We distributed relief packs and hygiene kits to various badly affected villages in the region.”

Another Keighley man, who is still out in Nepal, is Dr Aziz Ahmad Hafiz.

The GP and president of Keighley Ahmadiyya Muslim Association arrived in the devastated country early last week.

He is spearheading charity Humanity First’s emergency response.

Dr Hafiz has met the teams working on the ground to assess short and long-term needs.

And he has liaised with United Nations staff and Nepalese Government officials.

He said: “Our staff have been working with our local partner Ahmadiyya Saung Nepal to plan aid shipments, build a camp for over 150 in Kathmandu and assess needs for the next phase.

“The team has now returned to the Gorkha district to identify the most needy beneficiaries for the next phase of our work.

“There is a lot that needs to be done.”

Dr Hafiz has been a volunteer with the charity for 20 years since he was a student at the former Greenhead School in Keighley.

He is director of disaster relief for Humanity First, which was inspired by the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim community.