Nation»
Family on threshhold of life and death
DHARAN, JAN 09 - "If you are to shelter only in the poor man’s house
Oh Lord! Be sympathetic again to give more of these sorrow and pain."
This excerpt of playwright Balkrishna Sama comes to mind each time some incident of extreme human sorrow arises, like the one faced by a Rai family of Khotang, Sungdel-1. This family, burdened with a weak economic situation, was hard by the insensibility of a natural disaster.
A year-and-a-half ago the family fell victim to natural calamity and was forced to take shelter at a house in Dharan since the last six months.
To make situations worse for 22-year-old Harka Mani Rai, his young wife Mankumari has fallen prey to a nervous disorder, for the treatment of which they need a huge amount of money. With Harka already an asylum seeker at the mercy of other’s generosity, he is further bogged down by the very thought of arranging money for his wife’s treatment. However, talking to The Kathmandu Post, Harka says that he will do all that he can till his last breath.
According to a CT scan at the B.P. Health Science Institute, a small tumour beside the nerve at the back of the head was detected, for which surgery costing more than Rs. 50,000 would be required. Since the treatment was not available at this institute, Dr. Gyanendra Malla there had referred Rai to Bir Hospital. But, the insurmountable problem that lay before the Rai couple is the financial crunch.
A year ago she used to feel a burning sensation in her hand and feet, but later her extremities and head went numb and paralysed. Since then her husband has been staying at home with her, as she needs his assistance for any movement, and Harka cannot go out to eke out a living for the family either. They even have a year-and-a-half old son who has become malnourished as the mother was afflicted by this malady.
The chairman Sunil Khadka and secretary Bhim Rai of a social organisation in Dharan called Apanga Sarokar Samittee has made a sincere effort and collected Rs. 20,000 for the treatment, but the amount is not sufficient. The couple, who urgently need the money for the operation for controlling further deterioration, are desperately seeking the help of kind-hearted people and organisations.
The vice-chairman of women’s committee of the Gorkha Bhutpurba Sainik Sangh of Sunsari, Yug Kumari, has appealed to her friends and various organisations to contribute to this cause.Posted on: 2004-01-10 02:46
Headlines
Advertisements
