Parents fret about future of their three blind children

Pancha Bahadur Sonar spends most part of his day working in a forge in his front yard. Heating iron in a furnace and hammering the metal against an anvil to give the intended shape is what has been his daily routine for years. The little money he makes from the business is all there is to support his family of seven.

The Sonar family from Bishwokarmatol in Basama-di-5 of Makwanpur has a hard time making ends meet. But for Pancha Bahadur, that is the least of his worries.

The thing that worries him the most is the future of three of his six children

who were born blind . So far, Pancha Bahadur said his wife, Goma, has been looking after the three children.

“But they are growing up and we are not going to be here forever.”

One of their daughters inflicted with the disability is now 21, another is 15 and

their youngest one, a son, is six. All three have to be aided by Goma.

“They cannot even go to toilet on their own. I have to be their eyes,” said Goma. She said that the family cannot even afford the money to take the three children to the doctor for a checkup. “Perhaps  the doctors could have their vision restored, who knows?”

Goma added because of poverty, they cannot even send the children to the school for the disabled.

Rajkumar Bhetwal, a local villager, said the family lives in a pity state.

“The blind children are also deprived of state allowance, which if they received would come as a great help to the family,” Bhetwal said. The children’s father, Pancha Bahadur said he did not know any one with the reach in the concerned government agency, who could arrange allowance for his three children.

He has appealed the government and the concerned authorities for help.