Disabled couple finding niche in business, becoming example for many

The grey-haired old man in his late 60s is busy making sweet boxes with his visually-impaired spouse sitting beside him assisting him. Seeing them engrossed in their job, one can easily assume that they have taken a large order for making sweet boxes. Both Nanda Prasad Chaulagain, 78, of Itram of Birendranagar Municipality-10 in Surkhet district, a retired army man, and his spouse Nanda Rupa are disabled.

He has suffered from paralysis below his waist, and Nanda Rupa is a blind. But they have not let their difficulties stop them from living a life with dignity and prestige. They are making a living and raising their children by running their own business. They produce sweet boxes and sell them in the market under the brand 'Surkhet Sweet Box'. In the family, they have two sons and one daughter. Their elder son is living separately with his wife while the younger son is preparing for a public service job after completing Plus Two school education. Their daughter is living with intellectual disability. She is an eighth-grade dropout.

Nanda Prasad runs a business of making sweet boxes from a house around 450 metres south of Itram river near Birendranagar airport. He has engaged in the business for the past over two decades. He has also opened a shop for his spouse. Despite ups and downs in the business, the couple never gave up, moved on cutting through obstacles in life. "I never depended on others. Why should we depend on others when you are hardworking and have dedication to work," he said.

But as he grew older, he nowadays started feeling drained. "It may be due to growing age, my hands and feet are tired and my energy is sapping," he shared.

Nanda Prasad originally from then Lamra VDC-4 in Jumla district descended to Surkhet along with his family after his below waste remained immobile all of a sudden. He suffered from paraplegia while serving in the Army. He retired from the Army 12 years of Army service after being diagnosed with paraplegia. He joined the Nepal Army in 2032 BS as private and retired as corporal.

He received some funds from the Army for his treatment. Initially, he was admitted to the Birendra Hospital, Chhauni, Kathmandu. Now, he is following up at the hospital.

He was taken to many hospitals for treatment but his condition could not be cured. At a time when the responsibility of running household fell on his spouse Nanda Rupa after he suffered from paralysis, another disaster befell him; his spouse Nanda Rupa lost her eyesight. So, he descended to Surkhet in 2052 BS for the treatment of his wife.

“I suffered from paraplegia while in job. It was not possible to travel between Jumla and Kathmandu for my treatment. So, I migrated to Birendranagar for the sake of the treatment of myself and my spouse,” he said.

In the beginning, he had to face many obstacles in establishing his business. “Being disabled, people would look down on us with a sense of discrimination. They would not believe us,” he shared. But he did move on ignoring all these things, and his hard work and dedication paid off.

Now, the villagers regard the couple with respect, and the couple has become an example for many including the villagers, said local people. He singlehandedly managed the marketing of his business as he has not employed people. He on his disabled friendly scooter takes the products they produce to the market and sells. Apart from supporting his family, he has bought land and a house. His annual business transaction has been around Rs 500,000 out of which he saves over Rs 100,000 after cutting investment and expenditures. He has bought one kaththa 15 dhurs plot in Birendranagar, and seven kaththas 10 dhurs farmland.

In 2055 BS, Nanda Prasad took up the business of making sweet boxes from paper after undergoing a week-long training on the production of paper materials organised by the Surkhet Blind Association with financial assistances from Birendranagar Municipality. Out of the total 25 participants, he is the only one who is running the business relating to paper materials.

“I have learnt to make paper bags and sweet boxes after taking a training session. In the beginning, sweet boxes we have made got the market. So, we could not focus on making paper bags. Plastic bags and products have replaced paper products.”

In view of the reuse and environment, paper bags and products are good, he viewed. If paper products are brought to the market, environment would improve, he said.

Increasing use of plastic materials has polluted the environment and affected the health of people, he said stressing the need for creating awareness about the use of paper materials. “Lately, citizens are being aware about the bad impact of plastic materials on human health and environment and about the use of paper materials,” he said. Sooner or later, paper bags and materials would get a good market as people are being aware about the bad impacts of plastic materials, he expressed his hope.

There are enough raw materials for making paper materials. Printing press and government offices are major sources of raw materials for making paper materials, he said.

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