Narayan’s Plight
As for Narayan, our new saathi (friend), we hope to find a solution for his plight. Sushil called me earlier in the week to tell me that Narayan couldn’t make it this Saturday for the interview, he also told me about his current troubles. I told him that I would talk to Rob to see if we could help him out.
Narayan is a really nice young man of 22. He is also going through a lot of hardships and in Nepal, that can be a really rough ride.
Family is the major way of support for many if not all Nepali’s. The family system is very strong with joint families living together under one roof, they are your protectors, your enemies, and your backbone in life. Families hold power over an individual’s life, whether is the matriarch or patriarch of the family, who ever it is, is your boss. In Narayan’s case, they have abandoned him for whatever reason.
He has in the passed, lived with Sushil. Narayan’s job is sitting on the street, with a scale so that people can weigh themselves.
Apparently, things are not so good for him now, according to Sushil. He hasn’t paid his Rs550/month rent ($7USD or so), eats once a day, and is unable to work because his scale is broken.
He is alone, living outside of Kathmandu, in Banepa, a small village. He found out that Narayan is only eating once a day because his debt with the restaurant is so huge.
He said for the past year, he helps him out with what he can, but he himself is also “weak in finances.”
I thought about a friend of our’s who has a wonderful orphange in Boudhha that is safe, quiet and nurturing. I thought that perhaps he could live there in exchange for whatever work needs to be done, or he could teach something to the children.
Rob said that someone donated $50USD on his Nepal Direct Effects web site, and that he would buy him a new scale.
Since he lives in Banepa and has no money to come into Kathmandu everyday, it’s better if we wait until the second term starts in the summer. In the down time, he could improve his English skills.
We all need someone to look out for us, and I’m so amazed at Sushil that he is doing this. I call him an Angel. They are both luck to have one another.
It’s really hard because we have so much on our plate already, there is a charity on every corner here in Nepal. At the same time, if it’s only $20 USD to buy him a scale, then why not? Rob and I weren’t really clear about exactly what kind of work he does. When Sushil called me, he said he works on the road, using scales. And I thought he did something with building a road, and that his scale broke and he had to get a new one.
Then he told Rob, he said, in Nepali that he uses weight scale. And Rob explained to me, that some street vendors offer their scales so that people can weigh themselves. I’ve often seen this but didn’t think anything of it. I can’t imagine that would pay a lot.
I hope that the orphanage would work out better, because he’d be living there as a work exchange–he meals are covered, plus he’d be closer to his Angel Sushil, and the home is such a peaceful and lively environment.
Tags: jobs, Kathmandu Work
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Sharmila ji
Thanks for the time you put in on the blog. I do check it pretty often just to see how you guys are doing and find out about all the things going on in your lives. Rob & I are talking to see if we can do anything to help with Narayan.
Om shanti
Thanks for helping find solutions to Narayan’s issues. I think we can help him in a really effective, self-empowering way.
Thanks for checking in…I’ll do a better job about keeping it updated!
–Sharmila