Established
in the year 2053 B.S. with some seven children, the
Kendra has now more than forty two children from 4 years
to 42 years old.
"Father Gaffney and Father Adam, both S.J.s, inspired
us to open this Kendra" says Rajesh and Rekha Manandhar,
who have been in this field for the last twenty years.
Rekha Manandhar joined HANDS, a home for the disabled
and mentally retarded children, at a tender age of eighteen.
"The work, which I learnt from Father Gaffney and
Father Adam some twenty years back at HANDS, has helped
me a lot to start here," she says. Since HANDS
was run by foreigners, the then Panchayat government
did not register the charity organization and as a result,
HANDS was taken by some Indian Sisters and Brothers,
now known as Nava Jyoti Kendra .
Since the Manandhars were accustomed
to working with such children, they did not find it
a Herculean task to run Kendra.
"And now we have become a big
family," they quip. The Manandhars have no children
of their own and do not regret. "We are the proud parents
of 42 children," they express with pride. "Unlike most
husbands, my husband does not have any ill feelings
towards me for not conceiving," she says. The Manandhars
are worth praising for their unique endeavor in sharing
love with the unloved ones. They sold their house for
the sake of the Kendra. They have nothing left with
then now except the mentally retarded children and a
rented house in which they run their Jivan Utthan Kendra
at Sitapaila, Kalanki.
They are very contented and
proud because they lost their house and land not for
the sake of gambling and drinking but for the love of
these children. For them these children are their wealth
and their happiness. "Only this is left out of my wealth,"
says the Calcutta born Ms. Manandhar showing her ear
top.
When they were young, Mr. Manandhar was a football coach
and an employee at Gorkhapatra Sansthan and Ms. Manandhar
was a teacher at HANDS. Later Mr. Manandhar joined HANDS
and met Ms. Manandhar where they understood each other's
feelings resulting in a happy intercast, love marriage.
When asked how they manage the
Kendra, they replied that the main source of income
is the fee from the student. And with the fee, they
have to meet all the expenses including the staff salary.
The Kendra has eleven staff including the Manandhars
themselves. "We have no other source of income and we
are doing our best," they state. Besides, there are
also some free students.
According to them, in recent
times, Merit Mudler of Holland donated some toys and
equipment, and Madan Krishna Shrestha, Hari Bansha Acharya
and Kailash Dewan jointly donated exercising machine
and a water tank. "We do not accept cash donations but
equipment and other things are most appreciated," they
say, "because we do not want people to pinpoint us."
The Manandhars are sad with
the way the Social Welfare Council (Samaj Kalyan Parishad)
is working.
Citing an example of the Council's
negligence, Mr. Manandhar noted that the Council did
not heed to his application in which he requested the
Council to make a thorough inspection and cross-check
before giving donation to social organizations to stop
the misuse o funds. "The Council neither came to us
not has donated a single penny." he complains. "We don't
know what type of social organization is liable to get
the fund," he quips.
They give a twist to their story
coming to the children's front. According to them, mentally
retarded children and disabled children should not be
discriminated as what most of the people including parents
do. They also need affection and love. Mr. Manandhar,
cited and example of discrimination by the authority
in an event organized by Nepal Para Olympics, saying
that the name of his Kendra was removed despite Mr.
Manandhar's name in the committee. As a result, the
children were not provided with lunch. "After a log
and heated discussion, lunch was then provided to our
children," he said.
The mentally retarded children at the Kendra has proved
that they can make an earning by doing something creative
if they are properly guided. They make candles commercially.
The Manandhars have a message for all: "The only difference
between those children and us, is that, we are a bit
faster and they are a bit slower. Under no circumstances
should parents discriminate their children.
According to them, mentally retarded and disabled children
should not be discriminated as what most of the people
including parents do. They also need affection and love.
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