Till date, Chetteri has donated nearly Rs 500,000 to 12 different schools in the district. Chetteri has attended school only up to Grade-8 after which he had to drop out because of poverty. [break]
An employee of the school since 1978, Chetteri, who always remains bare-footed, says, ´I could not complete my school education but I do not want others to go through the same. That is why, I donate to schools.” Chetteri started with a salary Rs 150 a month, he now earns Rs 8,000 a month. Apart from these schools, Chetteri has also donated to Red Cross and supported youth clubs and construction of roads and bridges in his district. “I use all my salary for social causes and have a different job to support my day-to-day requirements,” says Chetteri.
The money he donates to the schools is used for various things such as paying the teachers, educational tools, scholarships for poor students and so on. “When Sanskrit school was converted into a higher secondary school, the Rs 1,10,000 he donated helped in further collections as it was used as an example,” says Moha Raj Sharma, chairman of the management committee of the school. It brought pressure on others to donate when peon of the school donated such a large amount, says Sharma.
Chetteri has become an example in the area for the generous donations he has made to various schools in VDCs such as Jaidi, Chasti, Ajerwa, Dhulluwasakot. He has also supported community libraries and says he will continue to help and support Sanskrit school as he has spent more than half his life there.
He remembers an incident when he was carried around in a palanquin with live band for his benevolent support to Jan Shakti Secondary School in Jaidi. “That honor encouraged me to carry on with my endeavors,” he said.
Not the kind to stay idle, in case of a villager falling sick Chetteri carries him to Falewas and Kushma for treatment. “His contribution and helping attitude is an example to all and is incomparable,´ said Sharma.
Born in Demja of Baglung District, Chetteri is unmarried and is sought after by the whole village in case of emergency or death, making him the favorite of the village. “He helps everyone in the village in difficult situations,” said Laxmi Devi Chalise, a local of the village.
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