Rachana's journey – a source of inspiration for those around her
Rachana, 14, has cerebral palsy. It took several years for her parents to accept her disability. Today, they see the progress she is making as a major victory. Read her portrait.
Rachana, 14, has cerebral palsy. HI has provided her with a walking frame, wheelchair and orthoses | © B. Kala POUDEL / HI
A disability difficult to accept for her parents
Rachana’s parents explain to us that she was a healthy child until she was six months old. It was after contracting severe pneumonia that the little girl started to show alarming symptoms: her right leg seemed paralysed and she had great difficulty communicating.
Her health deteriorated as she grew older. Her father, Devendra, found it hard to accept that his daughter was disabled:
“Instead of growing, my daughter looked more and more like a malnourished child. She could only sleep on one side, and her arms and legs were swollen. My daughter seemed to be unconscious; she wasn’t aware of anything and didn’t react to anything”.
Born into a family of five, Rachana has two brothers and is the youngest child. She is loved and cherished by all the members of her family. Her neighbours also treat her with kindness.
But when Devendra hears people from outside the village or community saying, “it would be better if a child like that were dead”, he says it makes his heart bleed.
Raising the awareness of her parents and providing assistive devices
Last year, Rachana's parents began taking part in HI's inclusive education project, “SIKAI”. Devendra has already attended several disability awareness courses. As for Rachana, she has been provided with assistive devices, including a walking frame, wheelchair and orthoses. Since then, she has made a lot of progress. She can now sit up and roll over. She is also responding more to what people say to her.
“Our daughter uses signs to express movements that are difficult for her, and she even laughs with joy when she's happy,” explains her father.
An itinerant teacher to support her at home
Lastly, the SIKAI project has found an itinerant teacher called Punam to work with Rachana. He has already visited her home several times. Using the project's adapted teaching materials, Punam is teaching Rachana how to read. He has also shown her family some teaching methods so that she can practise with them at home when her teacher isn’t there.
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