Category Lives

A place managed by the Government of Nepal for study.

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” Mahatma Gandhi

Dambar Bahadur Simkhada, who sells vegetables to earn a living, says the lockdown has robbed him of his business and deprived him of any means to take his wife to the hospital.

A year ago, Dambar Bahadur Simkhada was working in Qatar while his wife Sita was taking care of their farm in Dhading’s Ganga Jamuna Rural Municipality.

Suddenly, both of Sita’s kidneys failed. She had diabetes and high blood pressure. Dambar was compelled to return to Nepal to take care of his wife.

“I was working in a good company in Qatar,” said 42-year-old Simkhada. “I had planned on returning to Qatar after Sita’s treatment.”

Dambar brought his wife to Kathmandu after doctors told him that she needed regular dialysis. The couple rented accommodations in Samakhushi, Kathmandu and Sita started to undergo free-of-cost treatment at a nearby dialysis centre.

The dialysis centre closed down when the government announced a nationwide lockdown. Dambar managed to get to Bir Hospital, after hearing that dialysis was available there. The hospital told him that he needed a referral from the Health Ministry.

He managed to get a referral and since then, has been taking his wife to Bir Hospital on a push cart.

“It has been two weeks since I started taking my wife to Bir Hospital,” Dambar said. “It is hard to get a taxi and even if you manage to get one, it’s not affordable.”

Dambar sells vegetables for a living and ever since the lockdown, he’s lost all business.

“This lockdown not only robbed me of my business, but it has also deprived me of any means to take my wife to the hospital,” he said.

https://mailchi.mp/globalhandwashing/webinars-on-child-feces-disposal-and-events-at-the-2018-world-water-week-3103119?e=[UNIQID]

https://www.kantipurdaily.com/photo_feature/2020/05/13/15893754380383352.html

Source: Bringing Earthquake Education to Schools in Nepal

Children Sustainable Education, Literacy and Alertness Program (CSELAP) is a project gradually progressed starting from a concept that children must self-recognize the value of education in any situation like disaster may displaced them but they should seek to continue going to school.

Girls are learning to live their life independently creating their own because they have experienced that they are not valued by their own parents. When their brothers are studying in better school they are found fit helping their mother

There are families who are improving by taking opportunity seriously and working hard depending in their hard labour. But, there are cases that their life drowned because someone grabbed their opportunities or some they could not work hard because of decrease in health and physical ability.

Please be happy to see these children being happy because you have played a role to create environment for them and bring changes in their life. Console Mission thanks for showing compassion to them.

It is possible to bring impacting changes when we work together. There is a wise saying “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”.

A challenging task

The geography of Nepal consists of planes, hills and mountains. And, there are winter, rainy and hot seasons. Rainy season is challenging in hilly regions because road and livelihoods linked water supplies are affected. Children can’t walk to school, teacher and Government staff travelling by road don’t reach school or their work places in time or sometime can’t attend for a long time. Those responsible to repair and maintain road and assist smoothly pass vehicles and people are unreluctant to take challenges because stones and soil are frequently and unpredictably falling that is a risk of life.

Similarly, in last year i.e. 2019 many villages in the working areas of Console Mission was affected that communication, transportation and overall lives activities were stopped. After a long – about 2 and a half months when a team visited they walked half a way for about 2 hours to reach the villages. And, it is found that everything was devastated. People were managing to continue lives activities on their own what and how it was possible. Local Village Representative of Console Mission shared about the continuation of Study Centre because childrens were distracted continuation by landslides. Beside that, water tank was swept away by flood and the place was covered by landslide. 18 households of Bhattedanda village was seeking support to manage water supply necessary for livelihoods besides drinking water like for their domestic animals, fields and hygiene purposes.

Government of the local area cannot afford to construct quickly because there are similar situations in multiple places that local people manages to stay and wait for NGOs active in the area to get help. However, NGOs like Console Mission consults the Village Representative to organise need assessment meeting and write application followed by meeting minute.

The organisational process carried on and necessary tasks are conducted like field visit and finding the initiation of the responsible stakeholders. Coming to the point, after the required or some percentage of resources is available for the construction, a meeting is organised by the Village Representative in the direction of the organisation where it is informed to the beneficiaries to contribute their skill and time. But, it is challenging because they need motivation. In many cases snacks or food must be managed that is better comparison to manage labour. Though Nepali society still follows tradition to help each other called #Pharma but when NGO initiates project or long term programmes it is a different concept. Therfore, Console Mission #practices to involve beneficiaries from the project designing stages whether it is directly initiated or indirectly, participation of individual households is inevitable.

People participation is for the sustainability of what is initiated whether a small water tank construction or awareness program

Still the people of the working area of Console Mission needs to understand that life is challenging and what they contribute for the development matters for the progressive development. To come over these challenges, an NGO who identified, developed concept and tested it works should get resources to move ahead quickly.

When the water management project started with the support from an organisation that concerns the people affected by the disaster, it was informed in written (proposal) people participation was assured. People has skills, time and concerns. And, moreover Console Mission #initiates People Participation for the People Participation Organisation. It means that this organised team protects or continues what is started or initiated. Without the involvement of the beneficiaries, the continuation and progressive development or sustainability of the initiation is at risk.

Bulakhi Chawor (or, Nostril Garden) is a village that was found in 2015 by a grassroots level NGO in Nepal where there were 23 households. Now, since earthquake highly affected, their house where families were living together as joint family is separated busy in making earthquake protected house together. They learned to do it and it has been a practice that villagers work together. But, it is observed that to complete they lack fund, most of the houses are in an incomplete stage. The fund provided by the Government was not enough that locals took loan like Tilak who as an elder brother managed his and his brother’s family during the earthquake who was away as migrated worker abroad in middle east countries, after their house fall down, he searched for help and received required materials to manage temporary house for himself and his entire village. And, now when the road collapsed of heavy rauinfall, he is searching for support. As Console Mission’s Executive visits Bulakhi Chawor on September 27, 2019 (i.e. yesterday), to find a place to manage “Educational Coaching Class” for the children who are suffering not getting support from their parents who are illiterate and not capable to guide children to do their homework and prepare for test, Tilak told that after his room is complete it could be used for Children’s Educational Coaching.

At Nostril Garden, half population of the households lives down part and other half at top. When, Study Center was started, it was in School located down. But, the collapse of road is risky for children from top to reach. Tilak house is located at top. He allowed his daughter in law to teach children at School but now when it is stopped because of the road situation, Tilak shared even his house is incomplete, class can run. It looks floor is fine for children to sit and wall to stick white board, but as winter is arriving and at top of the hill it is cold 12 months, children needs warm. Therefore, if this grassroots level NGO could help to manage window, door and what is necessary, children will get a place free of charge.

Walking path is dangerously affecting lives that children are at risk that there parents stopped sending for educational coaching

Every year School Leaving Certificate (SLC) or, School Elementary Examination (SEE) completed students of public school gets opportunity to apply for educational scholarship. This year students linked with the NGO where I am associated went through the process and appeared for the scholarship examination. During the process, student were charged about Rs. 1000. And, submitted document with the voucher that was deposited in the account that was provided. It was not surprising to see a private bank handling the payments by operating bank inside the Government premises. I think, it was the contract or the bank provided service to the Government. However, the receiving transaction must be many that such facilities is available inside the premises.

Many students from all the districts of Nepal arrived the location located within th capital city, after the announcement of the application, process to apply and the deadline to apply for it.

Since, this writing concentrates self-sufficiency to manage the scholarship, I would like to reflect some simple calculations: if there were 100,000 students, out of the charge Rs. 1000, the total amount collected/paid by the student will be Rs. 1,00,000,000. According, to the scholarship payment student gets Rs. 5000 per month. The students that I am linked planned 3-years course. Then, such student gets Rs. 5000 × 12 months × 3 years equals (=) Rs. 180,000. Based on this budget, per student 555.55 (~556) numbers of students can get scholarship.

I haven’t gone through the details like:

• What are the numbers or the available seat for scholarship?
• What is the exact scholarship amount?
• Targeted group for scholarship based on the ethnicity or socially backwardness?
• The fact about this current year scholarship?

In conclusion, not reflecting the hardships that students has to go through, it is a self-sufficiency and self-efficent way to manage scholarship program for the Government.