mero blog: April 2012

it all started about 12 years ago when sandaji (my brother) fell off a cliff in lilibhir, got stuck on a ledge for three days before being rescued in a dramatic fashion—possible because of what many have referred to as a series of miracles. it was only after coming to kathmandu that people, including sandaji, discovered that the fall had shattered three vertebrae, but miraculously again, sparing his spinal cord any injury. it was during the process of his rehabilitation that the idea of a rehab centre for the spinally injured, who in Nepal tend to be the poorest, germinated in the minds of sandaji and his friends, mainly dr. anil shrestha.

ten years later, it was a pleasure to attend the tenth anniversary of the spinal injury rehabilitation centre, sirc, in bhainsetpati gaon in sanga vdc of kavre... it was pleasure to see the dreams of a few people growing slowly but surely... it was a great event, more so because it was people, who you thought had been dealt with the worst blows in life, were present to celebrate life as best they could...

the weather was clear and sunny, and chairs were lined up smartly to greet guests…

... the air was festive with buntings fluttering in the light morning breeze…

...shanta and dr. anil discuss last minute details...

... khadas were readied for the guests...

... three key sirc ladies in waiting... meera jyoti, esha and shanta...

... sirc patients began to gather in the driveway...

... and near the gates to welcome guests ...

... they also included a team from bharatpur-- friendship society of spinal cord injured--lending solidarity to sirc's celebrations ...

the nepal beetles association (anbug) was also lending solidarity to the event by making a trip to sirc as part of their annual (coincidentally, 10th) himalayan beetle rally... the first to arrive was the spinal beetle... sirc's mascot...

... sandaji gets welcomed by shanta...

... as do the other passengers, including lok bahadur lama, who was the one 'angel' involved in sandaji's recovery from lilibhir...

the spinal beetle has really been places as part of the fund raising drive for sirc.. to bangladesh, and a few months back.. all the way to peshawar in pakistan...

... the smiling beetle ...

... proof of the beetle's trip to pakistan... a flamboyant fender gifted by the people there ...

... up close.. the intricate and delicate design ...

... soon other beetles follow... this one driven by prabhu ram bhandary, the vice president of anbug-- the beetles' association of nepal-- who have decide to join forces with sirc and made sirc part of the 10th himalayan beetle rally stoppage...

… the beetles roll in…

…sirc chair meera jyoti and other staff line up with khadas…

… to greet them…

there were really a lot of bugs around in sanga that day… other than the vw beetles, there were thousands of ladybirds hovering in and around the sirc…

… while waiting for the chief guest to arrive, sandaji has a word with the cdo of kavre, mr. rudra nath bashyal…

… more patients on wheelchairs line up on the driveway…

… and then he arrives… chief guest of the day, hon. mr. subhas nembang, speaker and chair of the constituent assembly…

… he takes his place on the stage…

… and shares a smile with sandaji…

... also called upon the stage along with other dignitaries is mr. lok bahadur lama who rescued sandaji from lilibhir by carrying him on his back and hoisting himself up the near vertical slope with unbelievable strength and guts…

… once all the guests were lined up on stage, it was time for the traditional opening of the 10^th anniversary celebrations, by lighting the पानसको बत्ति

.. then esha thapa, the director of sirc, gave her welcome remarks… tracing the history of sirc when it was inaugurated in a small fashion in jorpati by sir edmund hillary on 25 chait 2058… to its move to the present custom built premises in sanga.. and the recent opening of an opd service at the request of the community…

... national and international friends and supporters…

…among the international friend and supporters is stephen muldoon from livability ireland. he talked about the genesis of sirc, following a meeting with dr. anil in bangladesh in 2001, and his first visit to sirc for a month's placement, as part of the irish aid's specialist service overseas programme. he expressed happiness at the way the centre has grown over the decade and how it has managed to give life and hope to the spinal patients who tend to think that their life ended with their injuries…

"spinal injury is one of the most challenging condition, to turn around a tortured condition of a patient to face gainful life challenges, and I must commend the way sirc has been able to tackle the issue in a comprehensive manner," said chairperson of the hospital for rehabilitation of disabled children (hrdc) further down the road and up a hill from sirc, dr. ashok banskota. he also added that fortunately due to clinical studies, on the verge of breakthrough there will be wonderful possibilities for treatment of spinal injury in the near future…

…mr. jurg kunz from mountain to mountains of switzerland recalled the connection of the institutions with sirc, from the days of sitting down for the design of the facility with an architectural firm. mountains to mountains saw the light of day after three visitors from the country visited sirc and were inspired by the centre…

…president of anbug, mr. prabhu ram bhandary, explained how the association was now going to support sirc. aside from financial contribution (rs. 200,000 was handed over that day, some of it gathered after beetle owners skipped breakfast and t-shirts for that morning's rally)all the beetle vehicles he said could now be used as tools, like wheelchairs are, by the spinally injured.. and also be used to raise resources within the neighbouring saarc countries. he also gently reminded the chief guest to remind the government to reduce the back-breaking taxes currently levied on the old bugs classifying them as 'luxury' items. "these are vehicles for charity, not luxury!"…

... chief guest handing over anbug's cheque to sirc chair…

…amongst the speakers were the kavre cdo mr. rudra nath bashyal and vice chancellor of kathmandu university dr. suresh raj sharma…

…dr. hans koch from the swiss paraplegic centre, which has also been supporting sirc with training, expressed his satisfaction at the how sirc has been working in the rehabilitation of the spinally injured, a task that requires a combination of "heart + hands + head"…

…after the announcement of support from swayambhu garage and Kathmandu west rotary of rs. 25,000 and rs. 100,000, there was the most poignant moment of the event, the song sung by ram bahadur tamang, a spinal patient from sindhupalchowk, who had recently been discharged. to the accompaniment of a sarangi, he sang his tale in the ghatana style sung by gandharbas of how he got injured, rescued, treated and rehabilitated…

…the following clip is the first stanza of ram bahadur's song. he narrated the घटना of पुस २०६६ when he had gone a trip to तातोपानी and on returning after a stoppage at दोलालघाट how the rash driving of the नक्कले डाइभर made the bus plunge over a cliff. ७ बजे राती the bus भित्तामा ठोकियो and चाखखोलामा खस्यो. he tried to jump, but ended up at the bottom with पेटमा गाडी . he waited for 2 hours बाँच्न खोज्दै जुक्ति and lamenting about ठूलो दशा आइपुग्यो म माथि. the police rescued him टाउको समाएर तानी into a waiting van. he then was taken to dhulikhel hospital where he was operated and सँगै जीवन कि पियारी was by his side. he rues about how रुख काट्दा २ चोइटो, he too was १ जिउ २ टुक्रा . from the hospital he came to sirc in भैँसेपाटी गाउँ, and saw ह्विलचेर फुर्ति गरेर चलाएको and determines to फुर्ति गरि गरौँला थेरापी ।

…the renowned designer prabal gurung in front of us was capturing the moment in his phone too…

... next was the 'simultaneous' speech and an impromptu rendering of their newly coined jingle on sirc by the social worker and comedian duo of madankrishna and haribamsa, and the audience listened to maha jodi with rapt attention…

next up to speak was sandaji. he wanted to thank a lot of people, and chose to do so by thanking one person who represented a cohort of like-minded people… e.g. ram bahadur tamang who'd sung the ghatana who represented the resilient patients who despite their misfortune, continue to inspire others; sir edmund hillary, who inaugurated sirc in april 2002 and who represented all those who displayed sensitivity to the hills and plains of Nepal and also representing friends & supporters from the international community; lok bahadur lama who carried him out of the cliff without seeking any compensation or personal gain, representing nepalis who are full of compassion, selflessness and empathy; subhas nembang who represented high placed nepalis lawmakers who went out of the call of duty to support the cause of the disabled; goma dulal, a spirited quadraplegic, representing the friends from nava jeevan kendra in jorpati, in whose premises sirc was housed for a couple of years, who always had a smile and a word of cheer for others despite their own dire conditions; uddhab k.c. of representing the open hearted residents of bhainsepati village; the south asian embassies (chiefly indian and pakistani) representing south asian governments for their support and solidarity. ("now that we are a decade old we wish that the Nepal government would trust us enough to foot 1/3^rd of the running cost of sirc.. we promise we will make good use of I") ; and finally prabal gurung representing the global persona who can help spread the word of sirc and the spinal injury to the world and help to build a trust fund for them…

… the chief guest then launched the 10^th anniversary publication of sirc : "स्पाइनलको यात्रा: the journey of 'spinal'"

... followed by distribution of letters of appreciation to long serving staff of sirc…

… the chief guest then spoke about his own commitment to give साथ, सहयोग र समर्थन to sirc and gave an example of his initiative of making the parliament a wheelchair friendly one. he also talked about the bug—"as college goers we friends used to talk about the strength of the vw beetle. how its strong spine meant it would never turn turtle.. but today after listening to you all I believe it also has a big 'heart'! "…

… after the chief guest went to look around the sirc, chair meera jyoti distributed token of appreciation to various individuals and organisations… like the pakistani embassy…

... or the men-la nursing home…

… chair meera jyoti then offered her closing remarks.. once again stressing on the growth of sirc from a 3-staff, 3-bed facility to a 51-bed centre that makes special provision for the poor and marginalised, who are often the victims of spinal injury in nepal…

dr. ashok banskota mingles with patients from jorpati days whom he still remembers by their names…

... the doctor who continues to inspire others with his skills, compassion and humility…

... another person who inspires patients at sirc, is the athletic sonika dhakal, a counsellor at sirc, who lost the use of her lower limbs after slipping off from a lingey ping (swing) during dasain when she was just 13…

… all gutsy peopple together...

… another inspirational figure rolls in… brigadier general ramindra chhetri… whose spinal injury is a result of bullet wound during the maoist insurgency…

... entering the sirc premises…

... in the lobby is a list of the current patients… there are nearly 3 dozen from all over Nepal.. the mountains and plains… the youngest is a 17-year-old from rupandehi…