Mother's hope against all odds

By Our Correspondent

BARDIYA, Sept. 20: Every day Chiliya Chaudhary of Rajpur Village Development Committee of Dang, in mid-western Nepal, sits on the banks of the Rapti River waiting for her two teenage sons to return home. This has become her daily routine since the last five months.

Five months ago, she remembers, her two sons Dipesh, 18, and Chukun, 15, had left home with four unidentified persons who had come to pick them up. The sons had left with some beaten rice and five packets of noodles. The men had told her that jobs were waiting for the two boys.

The same night, on April 12, there was a big fight after the Maoists attacked the army and police posts at Lamahi and Satbariya in nearby Deukhuri where 47 security men were killed. The actual number of casualties from the Maoist side was never known.

After her sons did not return for months, Chiliya began looking for them. She went to all her relatives and acquaintances and other possible places. She even checked with the police, but to no avail.
She dreads her sons might have been killed in the bloody battle in Deukhuri. But her heart refuses to admit that her naïve and innocent sons would ever follow the path of the Maoists.

"We will return soon," they had said. The mother still believes her sons have gone to look for work and will come back. "They will certainly return by Dashain." The hope has not died down.

It is not only Chiliya, but many other parents in Satbariya, Rajpur, Bela, Gathawa, Ganga Paraspur and Gobardiha VDCs who are waiting for their children.

The Maoists had forcefully taken the children in the morning of April 12, and it is believed they were used as human shield in the attacks.

Shomu Chaudhary of Bela VDC is convinced that his daughter was killed in the incident. She was also taken by the Maoists in the morning of April 12. "They had said that they would find her a job." Although, most parents have little hope of seeing their sons and daughters again, they are unwilling to believe that their children were killed in the attack. "Because our sons and daughters were not Maoists," they say. "But we allowed the Maoists to take our children with them for fear of the consequence."

The Maoists had given them many assurances and false promises. The people want the Maoists to return their children, and the Maoists continue to make false pretences that the children will be returned soon.

The six VDCs to the south of the Deukhuri valley are inaccessible by road, making it easy for the Maoists to still force the locals into terrorist activities.

Indian police hand over Maoists to Nepal

RSS

SIRAHA, Sept. 20: Indian police have handed over two Maoist terrorists arrested at Ladaniya Bazaar in India and imprisoned at Madhuvani in the Bihar state to the Nepal police Wednesday, it is learnt from Siraha district police office.

Laxman Mahato and Sobhit Pal Gaderi alias Rajdev, the two Maoist terrorists are from Arnama VDC of Siraha district. They were apprehended by the Indian police on August 22.

The arrested Maoists had murdered then VDC vice-chairman Shiva Narayan Yadav, Sanjaya Kumar Yadav, Ram Prasad Yadav and Bijaya Kumar Yadav in April this year.

Nepali school founded in America

RSS

KATHMANDU, Sept. 20: International Nepali Literary Society Washington DC, Nepali language committee after founding a Nepali language and culture school at Washington DC assisted by Nepalese guardians and organisations in American cities has initiated classes in Nepali language.
Inaugurating the school amidst a function, Royal Nepalese Ambassador for the United States Jaya Pratap Rana expressed commitments to providing continuous help for the school founded by the society.

Preliminary and grade one classes have been running at present at the school where a curriculum up to grade nine has been prepared.

Some 13 Nepalese children and 3 adult Americas are studying at the school.

Speaking at the programme society president Puru Subedi said that it was a model programme and they planned to extend it to other American cities and even to other countries.

At the programme Dr Shyam Karki of Indira Foundation handed over a cheque as grant assistance for the school.

Likewise, some of the amount collected at the music programmes performed by the 1974 band and singer Deepak Shrestha were given to the school.

American national Danny Birch who has been practising Nepalese classical music for long and renowned Tabala player Hom Nath Upadhyaya had also performed at the programme.

Meanwhile, Chitwan chief district officer Ratna Kaji Bajracharya laid the foundation stone of the livestock service centre building to be constructed at Padmapur, a village in eastern Chitwan district, amidst a programme Wednesday.

The building is to be constructed with a grant assistance of Rs 700,000 from the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Tiger and Rhino Conservation Project, along with volunteer labour by the local people.

The project is setting up a revolving fund of Rs 460,000 in the near future for running the centre, it is said.

Also speaking at the programme were Padmapur Translocation Commission president Babu Ram Puri, Padmapur Livestock Service Centre Committee president Jitendra Kumar Chaudhari and others.

Skill development training for women

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BIRATNAGAR, Sept. 20: Former deputy prime minister and chairperson of the martyr Krishna Prasad Koirala Sewa Guthi (Trust) Shailaja Acharya inaugurated yesterday a three-month long sewing, cutting and weaving training conducted at Sisawani Jahada with the assistance of the Ministry of Women and Children.

Altogether 70 women of various VDCs of the area have been participating in the training which is run with an objective of making them self reliant.

Speaking on the occasion, Acharya said the development of the country will not be achieved unless the women are equipped with skills and made self reliant.

National Assembly MP Ashok Koirala said changes can be brought about in the lives of women if skill oriented and practical trainings for income generation are imparted to the rural women.

At the training presided over by convenor of the training Tanka Katuwal, various other speakers including NC Morang secretary Gopalman Singh Rajbhandari and member Yadav Sapkota also expressed their views.

Meanwhile, the ADRA-Nepal Banepa organised a day-long introductory programme in connection with launching of the community health empowerment programme at Sharada Batase VDC of Kavre district with an objective of increasing health awareness.

On the occasion, ADRA-Nepal trainer Bil Kumar Rai informed that the programme will include kitchen garden training and seeds distribution to make the farmers self reliant besides making them health conscious.

A discussion was held to make effective the health programmes regarding pregnant women, sex and reproduction and family planning.

At the function presided over by assistant headmaster of the Kalika Secondary School Sharada Batase Madhav Prasad Humagain, 19 persons had participated from various organisations.

STD patients visiting health centres growing

By Our Correspondent

MANTHALI (RAMECHHAP) Sept 20: There has been an increase in the number of people visiting the health centres with the growing awareness about reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

Until recently, people used to shy away from the health posts and clinics even if they had STD due to the social stigma.

"After we conducted a series of interactions and trainings on STD such as AIDS and syphilis as well as on reproductive health with the youths, students and faith healers (dhamis, jhakris), there has been an increase in the number of such patients visiting the health posts," said Srijana Shrestha, an official at the District Health Office.

A total of 1,200 STD patients visited the district hospital in fiscal year 2058/59, she said.

Some patients, who used to frequent the faith healers have also started visiting the health posts.
"I went to the health centre after coming to know that the disease could get worse if I did not get treatment in time," said a local of Gelu VDC on condition of anonymity.

"I myself advised such patients to consult with medical practitioners," said Chandra Bahadur Raya, a local faith healer. Raya said that many patients did not talk about STD. "But when I warned them about the fatal consequences of diseases like AIDS, they began visiting the district hospital."

Such patients want secrecy. Most of them prefer to visit private clinics to hospitals because they think clinics are more likely to maintain their diseases confidential.