Restoring Hope: Sumi Roka Magar’s Journey to Resilience

Sirish Burlakoti — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:09:58 +0000

*Sumi Roka Magar lives in Aresh, Ward No. 8 of Sunilsmriti Rural Municipality, Rolpa. She is a single mother of three, two sons and a daughter whose livelihood depends on subsistence farming. Life changed forever in 2017, when her husband died while working in India, leaving Sumi shattered both emotionally and financially.

Her eldest daughter, now 26, has a severe physical disability and requires constant care. Sumi’s sons were still children when their father passed away. With no income, no livestock, and no savings, Sumi struggled daily to feed her family. They lived in a makeshift shed, spending half the year in a remote cattle shelter high in the hills, where rain leaked through the roof and nights were cold. Without support, Sumi’s daughter endured isolation. There were times when Sumi had to tie her daughter outside while fetching water; walking over an hour to the river returning to find her hungry, soiled, or injured. Despite these hardships, her daughter’s intelligence and potential shone through, waiting for an opportunity to be realized.

In 2024, INF Nepal arrived in Sumi’s village with a resilience and disability inclusion project. The initiative revived the inactive community forest user group and formed a new self-help group (SHG), prioritizing households affected by disability and food insecurity. Sumi and her daughter were selected as members.

INF encouraged direct participation of persons with disabilities in community meetings. To enable her daughter’s involvement, the group decided to hold a meeting at Sumi’s home. That day changed everything. When her daughter realized the group had come to listen to her, she first cried—but then smiled. For Sumi, it was the first time in 20 years she had seen her daughter’s smile, and it gave her a renewed sense of strength and purpose.

Following the visit, Sumi was proposed for an income-generating initiative. She chose goat farming a livelihood she could manage while caring for her daughter. With a revolving fund of NPR 15,000, Sumi bought two hybrid goats. Within a month, one goat gave birth to twins, increasing her herd to four. She also received ten fruit saplings as additional support.This small beginning transformed her life. Sumi now plans to grow her herd, sell goats, replace her leaking thatch roof with corrugated iron sheets, and buy new clothes for her daughter. More importantly, she has regained her dignity and her family’s place in the community.

Today, Sumi’s daughter participates actively in community activities, and their SHG continues to support vulnerable households like theirs. Sumi reflects, “INF Nepal didn’t just support a livelihood. They restored our dignity, resilience, and hope. We are no longer just surviving we are living with purpose.”

This story shows how targeted, and inclusive interventions can transform lives providing not just material support, but also emotional strength, social inclusion, and a sustainable path toward independence.

*Name changed for anonymity

From Darkness to Leadership – Ramesh Bahadur’s Journey of Hope

Sirish Burlakoti — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 07:11:19 +0000

In a quiet village in Rolpa, Nepal, lives Ramesh Bahadur, a 47-year-old man who has never seen the world with his eyes. He was born as the second son in a family of seven. His parents were happy when he was born, but their joy turned to worry when they realized he was completely blind.

For Ramesh, blindness was not the hardest part of life. The real pain came from how society treated him. There were no schools for children with visual impairments in his village, and his family could not afford to send him outside the district for education. His dream of going to school ended before it began.

Life became lonely. People avoided him. He was never invited to social events. Some even believed that touching him would bring bad luck or make them lose their sight. These superstitions hurt more than his disability.

Ramesh is capable. He learned to do many things using his hands and sense of touch. But society saw him as helpless. To survive, he crushed stones for income—a hard and dangerous job that often injured his hands. It took him seven months to crush enough stones to fill two tractor loads, and even then, the market was uncertain. In six months, he earned only NPR 11,000. The government allowance of NPR 4,000 was far from enough to support his basic needs. Every day was a struggle.

People doubted his ability to lead. But Ramesh never gave up hope.

Then, everything changed. Through INF Nepal’s LIFT project, Ramesh learned that people with disabilities have rights and a voice. He joined the Bhumesthan Self-Help Group and met others who shared his struggles. For the first time, he felt included.

Today, Ramesh is no longer invisible. He is the Chairperson of the Disability Network in Ward No. 7. He speaks in meetings, advocates for inclusion, and has even helped secure budget allocations for disability programs in his community. “Before INF’s project, no one saw us. We were forgotten. Now, we are organizing, learning, and making progress,” he says.

Leadership has given him confidence. He can now speak up, share his experiences, and inspire others. He has also discovered his talents—he plays the flute beautifully and dreams of joining a local musical group. Crushing stones cannot be his future; it is hard work with no guarantee of income. He has also learned handicraft skills, making hand-woven bamboo baskets, which could open new opportunities for him.

Ramesh Bahadur cannot see the world with his eyes—but he sees hope, dignity, and leadership growing inside him. His journey has just begun, and he is determined to help others rise, just as he has.

“The real blindness,” he says, “is in the eyes of those who refuse to see our strength.”

Disability Inclusion – International Nepal Fellowship: INF Nepal

Restoring Hope: Sumi Roka Magar’s Journey to Resilience

From Darkness to Leadership – Ramesh Bahadur’s Journey of Hope