Having an impact

About a month ago, I visited several children and young adults with disabilities in the community of the Gup (local leader) of Punakha. We are now planning to extend this project to other parts of Punakha. Another development that had a significant impact was that, during my stay there in December, the Gup mobilised a journalist to write about the lives of families caring for people with disabilities and the challenges they face. Since then, two articles have been published. The first appeared about three weeks ago, and the second was published just a few days ago. Here is an excerpt from the second article:

“Before dawn breaks in Punakha, 37-year-old Kinzang Wangdi is already awake, preparing for another day that leaves little room for rest. By the time the village stirs, he has bathed and fed his 16-year-old daughter, who lives with cerebral palsy, before setting off to earn the day’s wages that sustain a family of five. … For Kinzang Wangdi, there is no clear line between work and caregiving, only an unbroken routine shaped by responsibility, exhaustion, and quiet resolve. …
‘In rural areas, families like ours are quietly left behind,’ Kinzang Wangdi says. ‘I have never received support from anyone, and I do not expect I ever will. But that does not mean I will stop caring for my daughter.’
Across the country, caregivers of children and adults with cerebral palsy rely largely on family labour, sporadic charity, and personal sacrifice. Specialised healthcare services remain concentrated in urban centres, physiotherapy is scarce outside referral hospitals, and community-based support systems are almost non-existent.”
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After the first article was published, an anonymous donor contacted the family featured in the story and donated a substantial amount of money to support their child. The article had described how the mother cannot stay at home to care for her daughter with cerebral palsy because she needs to earn money to support the family. As a result, the grandmother has been the primary caregiver for the girl.
Following the publication of the second article, more people have contacted the Gup to ask how they can financially support these families. This response is very encouraging. Through these articles, the families are becoming more visible, and people are beginning to understand how difficult it is to provide for an entire family while simultaneously caring around the clock for a person with a disability—especially in a country where care centres for children with disabilities are extremely scarce.

Here is the link to the article: https://kuenselonline.com/news/cerebral-palsy-care-out-of-reach-for-rural-families