Lack of bags forces children to carry books in sacks

By Prem Raj Simkhada,Kalikot, June 20: Perhaps it was Nelson Mandela who called education a great engine of personal development. It is through education, he said, that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. 

Naturally, every parent wants their children to have access to this engine. 

But not all can afford to give it to them. Even when education is free or affordable, educational materials are not. 

This puts kids at a disadvantage, like in Sanni Triveni Rural Municipality, Kalikot. 

Here, children put their books in sacks because they lack schoolbags.

Parents have fashioned bags out of jute sacks or polythene. The children carry them around their necks, on their shoulders or however they find comfortable. It is tough but they never miss school. 

They want to study and their parents want them to learn. 

Devananda Jaisi of Lusa, Sanni Triveni–1 told The Rising Nepal students from the Darji community faced this problem the most. 

He also felt that the many non-governmental organisations working for education in the village had not reached the truly needy people.

"I have heard the names of many NGOs active in the village. They or the local government may have the details of who these organisations have helped and are helping. 

But it is painful to see Darji children having to carry books and copies in sacks," he shared.