Tough challenges ahead of Nepal's disabled

Amrita Gyawali was 3 years old when she took that fateful bus ride with her parents and two siblings from New Delhi, capital of India, to the Nepali capital Kathmandu in autumn to attend the festival of lights.

"The bus met with an accident," said Amrita, now 20. "My parents, brother and sister all died on the spot. I alone in my family survived."

But she suffered a severe spine injury that has tied her to a wheel chair forever, unable to walk or stand. Her childhood has been a tale of struggle and hardship.

She was taken to an SOS Children's Village, an international charity running 9 homes for children in Nepal, with one dedicated to children and young people with special needs.

"They have been caring for me since then," said Amrita, who will complete her high school education this year and wants to go to college to study psychology.

But it's a tough search. "There are very few colleges that offer psychology as a major," she said. "I can't attend a college that is far away due to transport problems.

"We are trying to persuade the teachers at the Tri Chandra College to hold classes on the first floor," she added.

Though the government of Nepal has announced scholarships for disabled students, Amrita said there are logistical difficulties in using them.

"There are scholarships, but very few government schools and colleges have facilities for disabled students," she said.

Most public places do not have ramps for people using wheel chairs. Public buses have no provision for helping them board.

Amrita used to go to school in Dilli Bazar in central Kathmandu. The journey in a wheel chair would take nearly 20 minutes. What facilitated it was that some of her peers at the SOS Children's Village were also attending the same school and would assist her when needed.

At the village, there is no access to the Internet. So Amrita has to go to a cyber cafe in the neighborhood.

"Though it's on the ground floor, there are some stairs," she said. "I have to go with my hostel peers who lift me up the stairs."

That's how she also manages to visit salons to have her hair cut.

Moreover, Amrita is concerned that when she finishes college in three years, she has to leave the hostel she lives in now and fend for herself, according to the rules at SOS.

"I am worried," the girl admitted. "It means I have to make the best use of the next three years, study hard and get good marks so that I can get a good job to support myself."

Besides the dearth of funds, the disabled in Nepal also face discrimination by some communities that traditionally believe disability is caused by some sin committed in an earlier life, Amrita said.

Of the 601 members in the Nepali parliament, three are disabled.

When Nepal is scheduled to promulgate a new constitution in May2010, organizations which champion the rights of the disabled are asking for adequate representation in government organizations as well as budgetary allocations to improve their conditions.

Source:Xinhua