Sir Edmund Hillary once said you don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things - ''you can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals''.
It is a thought that has inspired Mornington Health Centre director and general practitioner Niranjan Sharma, to return home to help victims of the devastating April 25 earthquake.
The Kathmandu native wants to set up a community centre and health centre in a small village about 20km south of his home town.
Dr Sharma said the village was home to about 5000 people who lived in small huts, but following the earthquake, not even a single building was left standing in the village.
Adding to the people's plight was the fact they earned less than $NZ5 per day - too little to rebuild their lives, he said.
''That all goes into food for the day. If they did not get a job that day, they go without food.''
Dr Sharma plans to ease the village's suffering after raising more than $5000, which he hopes to use to build the health and community facilities.
The Dunedin and Wellington communities had been very generous, giving him about 70 blankets and 100 tents, among other useful things, to pass on to people in need in Nepal, he said.
The effort had been a massive challenge, but now Dr Sharma was facing his greatest hurdle so far - finding a way to get it all to Kathmandu.
''I am struggling to transport them. Please, please help transporting them from New Zealand to Nepal.''
He hoped someone ''very generous and kind'' would come forward to help with the transportation.
The challenge is a great one, but Dr Sharma sees himself as being just a small cog in the wheels of solution.
If everyone did a little bit, great achievements could be made, he said.
''It's a small undertaking, like Sir Edmund Hillary.
''He took one village and then built on that one.
''He is my idol. That is what has driven me.''
Dr Sharma plans to fly to Nepal on Thursday and stay for several weeks.
He completed his medical degree in Kathmandu, Nepal, and has since completed surgical training and research in Japan, where he gained a PhD in gastrointestinal surgery and organ transplant surgery.
He worked as a registrar in general surgery at Wellington's Wakefield Hospital, before taking up general practice.
He has been a general practitioner at the Mornington Health Centre since 2007.
