Stories

I first met Aruna Chhantyal 'Mimosa' through Facebook when I was recently visiting the US.  Aruna had written the book Phurba and the Yeti, Chyangba and asked me to purchase it online and bring it back to Nepal.  The book, which is Christian based, tells the story of a young boy who gets to meet a number of yetis. 

Aruna is 29, has muscular dystrophy and is losing her hearing.  She lives with her father, brother and his 20 year old wife and young daughter.  There are also a number of other relatives who live in the small house.  Aruna’s mother died a few years ago as well as another brother who died from diabetes.  Aruna’s father was in the Indian Army and still receives a pension which the entire family lives on.  Aruna’s brother is very supportive and does what he can to help the family, although he is still in college.

I first met Shova in May 2013 when she and a number of other children with disabilities living in Bhaktapur, came to a three day wheelchair basketball clinic in Kathmandu.  Shova is 24 and has been wheelchair bound for a number of years.  She lives in a room on the third floor of her house which is also where the stove is located, with her mother and father, brother, his wife and child, but unfortunately doesn’t get out much as she must be carried down the stairs.  Shova had been living at the Suvadra Foundation Home in Bhaktapur with other children with disabilities until she took her School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam.  Shova is now waiting for the results and if successful she will go on to further education.  In order to get to the toilet Shova drags herself on the floor, but this is the only exercise that she gets. 

Shova’s family converted to Christianity because the feeling was that Christians were more accepting than Hindus regarding her disability.  Shova told me that people in the community where she lives won’t come to her room because they “fear” her disability.  Shova also doesn’t want to go out much because she fears being shunned. 

Shova has two other brothers, one of whom attends a school for the deaf, another who is working overseas, although his wife and children live in Nepal.  The brother who lives in Kathmandu is considering working overseas because of the large debt that Shova’s parents have taken on to build their home and also to support Shova.  However, this brother is the only person who can carry Shova down the three flights of stairs.  The family hopes to get some money in order to convert their first floor from a storage area into rooms for Shova so that she can get outside more easily. 

Bharat and his wife are the parents of three beautiful children.  I came into contact with them through an American woman who I haven’t met, who wanted some clothes and other items delivered to the family from the States.  I took up this offer and agreed to meet the family at their home.  The family lives in two rooms, with a kennel on the outside.  They raise ducks to be sold during the holiday of Deshain.  Bharat, has no secure means of employment and worries about keeping his children in school. 

One has to count one’s blessings, because the stories only get more difficult, but this is how we are all bound together.