Strength TogetHER 17 - Session 3

December 11, 2021

On the morning of 11th December 2021, we started our virtual session with our enthusiastic participants from Jumla on the topic “A Time I Supported Someone” in partnership with the Zonta Club of Kathmandu. Zonta Club is a legally registered NGO that has been working on the advancement of the status of women with the objective to improve the economy, education, health, and issues related to youth and violence against women.

“We have two hands. One to help others and the other one to help ourselves” with this quote we started our session with a short introduction from our moderator Ms. Bhawana Malla Baniya. Ms. Bhawana Malla has been involved with Lokopakar for the last one and half years. She has already moderated 20+ different topics. 

We started by hearing a story of one of the participants, she shared that one of the sisters in her village had low vision in the past, and due to the lack of proper health service she couldn’t get it checked and as a result, she has lost her vision completely. Many people in the village started avoiding her and reacted like it was a transmissible disease and wouldn’t interact with her. One of her brothers learned about a place for differently-abled people and she has been living there since then. Our participant shared that she has always been helping and consoling her sister.  

Our second storyteller shares that she has always liked roaming around during dusk, and she likes how lively the bazaar gets. One rainy day, as she was returning home from the bazaar, as usual, she saw a person in a wheelchair trying to go up a hill, but was not able to. She went near the person and realized that he couldn’t talk or move his hands properly as well. She has always been helpful and proceeded to help the man. She shares that she was happy to help him, and will always be happy to help those in need. 

Caste discrimination is still largely followed in our village, says our other participant. She then described one event that had happened in her family circle/relatives' family. She had a grandfather who married twice. One with the caste Thakuri (it’s most accepted to marry a Thakuri in Thakuri Family) and the other was from a Dalit family from Surkhet. She was not accepted in the family at first, but gradually adjusted to life in Jumla. The problems began when her grandfather (husband of the two) passed away. The second wife was accused of being the reason why her grandfather passed away as she was from the Dalit family, and it didn’t suit them to be married. Our participant shared that she argued with the entire family saying they should have either not accepted her in the first place rather than scolding and accusing her only after the death of her grandfather, and trying to send her away. She has always supported the first wife and believes that change starts with ourselves and hopes she is where the change begins in the family. 

Another participant mentioned about her school was half an hour's walk away from where she lived. She was in class 1 and used to go to school with her sister and friends. One day while returning home, her sister saw a person in a wheelchair going somewhere. As they were already going in the same direction, they helped him by pushing the wheelchair and helping him go a little further than their village. He thanked them and told them that despite being so young they helped him and that he was really happy. He said, “You will grow up to be a great person”. Our participant thinks about this often and always tries to help everyone in need. 

Our moderator Ms. Bhawana Malla put forward that it is important to help others but it is just as important to be safe while doing so. One should also be aware of their environment, and situation, and be sure to help themselves before others. 

Ms. Sheba Rana, from Zonta Club of Kathmandu also mentioned how we should start the initiative to help others and always find people to find a way to help others through the path that we have created. It’s all about someone starting it.

This session gave us a lot of insights into the lives of our participants. The kindness they put forward, the courage they have shown to support is exemplary. Always eager to meet these wonderful ladies for the next session.