Interview with Sajana Sunar, a real social worker and amazing volunteer

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Can you tell us your story? Where were you born and the struggles you have been facing so far?

I was born in 11 July 1995 in surkhet. My dad name is Lal Singh Sunar and mother name is Parbati Sunar. I am the second daughter of my family. When I was 4 years old, my family moved to Dailekh because of my dad’s job. Dailekh is more rural area than Surkhet so there was so much caste discrimination. It is there where I have started my primary level school.

That time there was no teacher from my so called “ dalit caste” so teacher always used to motivate other students while at the same time they used to treat me so badly and rudely.

They never ever checked my homework. From Grade 1 to 4 I never got chance to sit on the bench. Whole time I used to stand in the classroom. I did not have any friend because of my caste.

And also they literally made me fail! They could not give me my final certificate showing my positive results and therefore I was told I had failed. Only after 6 month one of my sister’ friends found my pass certificate from dustbin and then my parents moved to Surkhet again and I started from grade 5 there. Fortunately in this school there was no caste discrimination.

Also my big sister has always been supportive and always encouraging me and she has been teaching a lot of things. But when I was in sixth grade that time I was 12 years old. My dad got a second marriage because my mom was giving birth only to girls. Therefore he left us with five small sisters and a pregnant wife. At that time we had not any economic source of income.

So I started to work as a construction worker and I also used to sell wood and stone.  I and my entire family we faced so many challenges but me and my sister did not want to give on going to school, we were ready to do any kind of sacrifice but we were ready to go.

It was the best part because we have realized value of education and I thought very hard to change my family conditions and peoples ‘mind so i started to participate at the programs of the SAMVAT Center which is organized by KIRDAC NEPAL (Karnali Integrated Rural Development And Research Center) with the support of STORMME FOUNDATION NEPAL, an INGO from Norway.

From 2013 I learnt so much, how to know about social problems and how to work and deal with them. We had a group of 25 girls group with one animator. We started to have a campaign for social change like door to door campaign, home visits, street drama, tea campaign etc. slowly winning the trust from the community members, slowly managing and having our little success stories.  We kept organizing small events at community level.

Eventually the community people started to support us. On 2015 I became an animator with KIRDAC NEPAL thanks to the support of STROMME FOUNDATION NEPAL.

Also I started to have periodic group discussions with a group of 25 girls there where we started to deal “hot topics” like child marriage, alcoholism, the importance of education, child’s rights and women’ rights.

At personal level I stopped one child marriage but then as members of the SAMVAT Center we stopped 6 child marriages and 9 girls started to go to school regularly.

I then become the president of AASA (The Association of Animator and Adolescent for Social Action ) NETWORK association of animators and adolescents for social action from 2016 to 2017.

There we worked to end child marriage, corruption, women right, child right and other social issues also.

I also got a chance to volunteering with VSO’s International Citizen Service in Lamjung for three months. There I worked for quality education, girl’s empowerment, women empowerment, disaster risk reduction and so called “wash” approach. During 3 month there also I supported one girl for her good education.

Now I am volunteering with the AASA Network to end child marriage, corruption and other social evils.

I also spend my 2 hour in Balbagaicha gyan kunza, a settlement where mostly dalits and other poor families live.

 There I am trying to support a child group for making them feel talented, socially active, overall trying to shape up their characters and letting value the importance of gaining a good education.

 

Can you tell us about your involvement at community level? When did you start to get involved at community level?

Yes I started to get involved at community from 2013. It’s been four year now. And my community people now know me better and somehow I feel like I become a sort of role model for the community. This is a great honor. The parents always say to their children to “be like Sajana, read as much as she is doing and I am happy to be a sort of inspiration to them”.

They trust me and my work, that’s why they support me. Local people like me despite being the youngest.

Every one shares their problems to me and they ask for suggestions and this makes me happy but I am also aware of the responsibility now I have been entrusted with.

In community I advocate for betterment of the conditions of women, children and adolescents.

Now we are also having interaction programs with political leaders and stake holder.

Moreover we are working on a signature campaign against corruption and I enjoy giving motivational sessions to local youths and awareness campaign against child marriage.

What are you currently doing?

I spend my two hour in Balbagaicha gyan kunza every Saturday where I am also devoting some of the time with a local women group, working with them to promote gender rights.

I am also an Advisor of AASA network where there are 5618 young members. I motivate them for being idol for social change and I feel good about it.

I am also reading in bachelor level now. My family also supports me for volunteering and this is very encouraging and very important.

Why is volunteering is so important? Why volunteering can be seen as a tool to support the process of self-empowerment of youths?

If we work with a paid job, it means that, the project that is paying our salaries, sooner or later will end. Volunteering is totally different.

Volunteering is much more sustainable and long term. Volunteering is also about ownership, commitment and personal accountability, it is an entire different thing, for better, believe me!

Moreover it gives more “focus” and it is also cost effective.  We should promote more volunteerism in Nepal.

From volunteering we can know the real problem and give respect to our work and must important we can know the real value of our self.

When we get positive feedback from our work, it gives more energy towards work and it helps to be mature also.  

Can you tell us what is social exclusion and discrimination to you?

First of all being a girl means for many not to be allowed to go outside from home. In case you are a Dalit, it means that sometimes a member of a different group or cast is not allowed touching you or some of your kitchen’utensils. It means that it is more difficult to make friends outside your caste.

When my teachers and other students had beaten me, I was not allowed crying, not allowed saying “I am innocent” or claim that I had done nothing wrong. I was not allowed to ask any questions why these mistreatments were happening to me.

What can be done to fight it?

Now people say that they are not practicing caste discrimination and gender discrimination any more but in reality they do!

Moreover well qualified people who hold good positions don’t want to give major responsibilities to Dalit because they don’t trust Dalits.

Still people fill insecure to allow their daughters to go outside from their homes. Still parents send their sons to famous schools with high fees for quality education but they send their daughters in government schools. This is sheer discrimination!

Generally speaking and not only referred to the particular situation faced by Dalits girls, parents don’t attach importance that their daughters’ studies so that they will never have the same level and quality education like their brothers.

In many instances for example, parents give more love to their sons than daughters and this happens perhaps unconsciously, on small “doses” every single day.

For this situation to change, we need to work on people’s mindsets. Providing them with education about caste and gender discrimination is not enough. It is a long term “job”, a difficult one but indispensible to make this country more inclusive and just.

We have to literally educate and let them understand that their behaviors and attitudes are   wrong!  They should realize and feel this from their hearts. Only in this way, they can really change their minds.

Can you tell us about the project/initiative that helped you winning the National Volunteering Award 2017?

Of course! The SAMVAT Center has definitely being a great platform for me. I learned many values there that I have been embedded in my life, life skills and social issues from this incredible platform where I truly got a change to shape up my so called social worker and community activist’ skills.

From AASA NETWORK I got a great opportunity, a real platform to work while from VSO NEPAL I got chance to have different experiences and more knowledge about social work and volunteering. 

What are your future plans?

My biggest dream is being a model social activist and social worker. I want to help children and girls to secure a bright future. This is definitely a long term goal.

About my career, it is not really important what I will do, this is not really about me. I simply hope that my contributions and actions will bring positive changes in society. This is what counts most to me.

 

Position: Co -Founder of ENGAGE,a new social venture for the promotion of volunteerism and service and Ideator of Sharing4Good

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