Orphaned by the earthquake, Anjali moves on with community support
Anjali Dairan’s new-found confidence is proof of the catalytic role played by social support in helping disaster-affected children rise from tragedy
Dhading, Nepal – For someone who has gone through so much at such a young age, 14-year-old Anjali Darain is exceptionally brave. But her grief is not an easy one to bear. Every corner of her cozy family cottage reminds Anjali of her loving parents and her little brother. Nearly a year ago, they were crushed under a massive landslide caused by the devastating earthquake of 25 April 2015.
“My granddaughter has a lot of courage and she is doing her best to get on with her life,” said her 72-year-old grandfather Dil Bahadur Darain.
“My only aim in life is to ensure Anjali has a good future.”
And he has done just that by opening a bank account in Anjali’s name and depositing every penny that was received from individuals, groups and organisations supporting Anjali into her account. It also includes the substantial cash compensation provided by the Government of Nepal to families to perform the last rites of each person who died during the earthquake.
Last year, following the family tragedy, UNICEF had helped speed up the government process for Anjali through its radio program, ‘Bhandai Sundai (Saying, Listening).’
Because the bodies of Anjali’s parents and brother were never found, she hadn’t received the compensation amount. However, following the live on-air interaction on UNICEF’s radio program with the Chief District Officer of Dhading district on Anjali’s plight, the NPR 220,000 (about USD 2000) was deposited in her account.
“Anjali will be able to receive the money after two years when she reaches the age of 16,” Dil Bahadur said. “I am sure that it will help pay for her further education.”
Anjali smiles watching her grandfather talk about her from the corner of the porch.
“I like taking care of my grandfather as he is my only family now and he is very caring,” said Anjali.
She is soft-spoken and shy, but has a new found confidence now.
“I always have busy days but I like being here in this village,” she said. “I will never leave my home.”
Anjali also said that she was offered help by many individuals and charity groups to fund her education in private boarding schools outside her village, but she politely refused.
“She turned down our help too and we don’t know why she never wants to leave her community school,” said Surya Man Shrestha, a friend of Anjali’s father. “We all want to help her so much in memory of our dear friend Chet Bahadur and his family, but Anjali is not someone who takes charity easily and I respect her for that.”
Surya Man and a group of farmers in this multi-ethnic Chapeligaun village have even formed a small committee to protect and promote welfare of Anjali, despite their own difficult circumstances.
Not charity but reinforcing social support helps children
Chapeligaun is home to mostly farmers from the janajati (indigenous) Darain ethnic group, who are more impoverished than other caste groups there. Anjali’s family also belongs to this community and with a small plot of farmland, her grandfather can hardly make ends meet with subsistence farming. They depend on the support of Anjali’s uncles working as migrant workers overseas.
There is no water access and the villagers often have to travel up the forest hill to fetch drinking water. Anjali wakes up at five in the morning to head up the hill, an hour away from her home.
“It’s good exercise and it keeps us fresh and ready for school,” chimed 16-year-old Kanchan Darain, one of Anjali’s closest friends.
The pair is always seen together from dawn to dusk, at home, forest and school.
According to Anjali, it is Kanchan’s positive and always jolly attitude that keeps her calm and happy, She has a cluster of other friends too whom she considers the greatest treasures of her life, and also the reason why she would never leave her school and her village.
Jang Bahadur Darain, 56, a village elder, displayed his pride over the girls in his village saying, “These girls are very smart and that is because of their school. We are proud of their attitude and thinking.”
A close friend of Anjali’s family, Jang Bahadur was a direct witness of the family tragedy. He had watched helplessly as a huge mass of land slowly and menacingly buried Anjali’s family.
He still has nightmares of the ill-fated day, he said.
“The past is hard to forget but we are all helping as much as we can to support Anjali,” said 38-year- old social worker Navaraj Basaula. He also added that the affected children need social support more than anything else.
Anjali agrees.
“I don’t need anything and I am tired of visitors asking me to talk about my parents all the time. I am trying to move on but the constant questions often pull me back to my grief that I am really trying hard to overcome.”
