Stories of Nepal: Mina
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
"She is my granddaughter. I have looked after her since she was 9 months old. I am her mother and I am her father. 'What happened?', you will ask. My daughter became a widow not long after marriage. It must have been her bad fate. Without a husband, she might have felt lonely. She found another man who was willing to love her and give her company. So she eloped with him. When she did, she left her daughter with me. She came to me and pleaded. "Mother, please raise your granddaughter for I am worried. I am worried that she might not be loved in my new home. I am worried about hardship coming her way. Here, I know you will give her food and affection." I have a tender heart and seeing her plea with tears, I could not deny her request. And we both agreed that she was better off staying with me.
"But I have my own problems at home. One more infant in the household added to the financial burden. Whatever our plight, I have done what I could as any human being would do. Even though she did not get her share of mother's milk, I bought milk from the dairy and fed her. Sometimes I collected buffalo milk from the neighborhood. And It was not easy even though I have enough experience raising children. I have 2 children that I bore myself. I would not want any less for my granddaughter. So her well being has always been my concern. How am I going to send her to school? How am I going to ensure she has a bright future? Is she going to ask me questions when she grows up, that I will not be able to answer? These things have always worried me. So everything I do, I do extra for her. More than I do for my own children. And now she is growing up and I am happy that she is healthy. I am happy that she is going to Kopila Valley School. For us poor people, there is no escaping struggle. It comes and you endure. But I have hopes that she will have a happy life and a good future.
"Just like my granddaughter, I was also orphaned when I was very small. I do not remember my mother nor do I have any pictures or memories to remember her by. I remember glimpses of father's face but it is also very vague. I was raised by my eldest brother and his wife. So I know what goes inside the heart when you do not see your parents when you are growing up. All the children have their mother and fathers that they play with but when you are an orphan your childhood is spent wishing for parents that will never come. The more you grow older the more you will miss them. It was my brother and sister in law that performed the marriage rituals and gave me away. I am not able to tell you how long ago I was married. Since I did not go to school, it is hard for me to determine dates and years. Maybe if my parents were well and living I would have gone to school and be working somewhere. I would be able to read and write but I cannot. Instead, I was given away in marriage very young and immature. I had to cook for everyone when it was my age to play. That is how I got burned too. I fell into the fire. And the burn scars never healed. The flesh never grew back. I have to take medicine for life. I feel like all this has happened to me because I had no father and mother to look after me. But I do not know. It might just be that God has given me many bad days and only a few good days." (Mina, Kasiram Takuri 1, Dailekh)
This month, we’re collaborating with our friends at Stories of Nepal to tell the stories of the families we serve. Each subject has children enrolled in the Kopila Valley School, and has agreed to share their journey with you.