Many school going children are out of school and child marriage is highly prevails in the Karumarang village in remote Rasuwa. Women including young mothers suffer a lot especially due to the early birth and by using contraceptives. The village looks like as if it is at the early stage of development and is inhabited by only Tamang ethnic people.
RojinaTamang is one among them.
Can anyone imagine how would have been the situation of young Rojina when she had to give birth to a child at the age of 15 where there was not even a basic health facility? Mentally and physically immature Rojina has already become mother of four at the age of 24 by now.
More hardship has befallen to young mother of two with seven months old lap baby when devastating earthquake stroked in 2015.
Entire village was destroyed including a primary school where the eldest child of Rojina used to study. More than half of the villagers set up displaced camp in another village leaving behind all their ancestral properties. Small barren land the villagers had, remained unploughed for years.
The story does not end here; a women with her third baby in a womb in displacement camp was not an easier life either.
“It wasn’t easy to sustain life, no idea how to manage daily bread for my children” – she recalled.
After two years of displacement, her family returned back to Karumarang but there was nothing much to do.
The family started their traditional way of raising livestock and farming but was not able to meet their every day’s demand. Nor they could have any employment opportunity in the locality.
Living in a life of insufficiency and hardship was troublesome.
Situation of Karumarang village was brought to the attention of Jcycn by the local community leaders and village representatives. Consequently, after several months of exercise, Safer School and Recovery of Livelihood Project was launched.
“Jagriti (Jcycn) came like on dead on time,” she said.
The project is providing employment through school construction and cash for work programme and helping villagers on modern farming techniques.
Rojina was nominated by the villagers as one of the leaders in a community group formed by Jcycn to conduct entire recovery activity, she looks after the financial part in the group. This has given a new direction, a new hope not only for Rojina but to the whole village.
“After being appointed as the treasurer for “Janajagriti Community Group,” I have learned saving credits and community mobilization.
Rojina actively take parts in the agricultural training conducted by Jcycn and practices her learning in the field. She also runs a small shop for the villagers while her husband work in the construction.
Everything is about to transform with new hope and life after disaster. Her eldest son has joined the school in the village even though the class being run in TLC as the new building is under construction. She expresses how hopeful she is to provide education facilities to her children and fulfil the basic needs of her family by uplifting lifestyle and work for the betterment of her marginalized community.