"It has been almost two months since I last had a phone conversation with my mother. She had always managed to call," said a tearful Rati, adding that she has lost all hope of ever seeing her mother again.
The 18-year-old cannot move her hands or legs and speaks with much difficulty. To make matters worse, her grandmother, Mina Khadka, cannot hear properly due to old age. When asked one question, she replies something else.
"Her mother has been out of contact. We do not know her whereabouts. We have no idea where to look nor who to turn to for help," said Mina after repeated attempts to understand the question.
Rati's plight has worsened after her mother left the village. She is supported solely by her grandmother despite her own struggles with poor health and advancing age. If she is left alone even for a moment, Rati starts feeling uneasy.
The two have been staying in rented rooms at Rs 1,500 per month. Mina receives Rs 1,000 as her old age allowance and Rs 500 as allowance for single women. She has not been paying her rent regularly as there are household expenses to meet, and the landlord has been asking them to vacate the rooms.
The house has a corrugated tin roof which heats up unbearably during daytime. However, due to her disabilities, Rati has no choice but to remain inside and put up with the scorching heat.
Rati developed her disabilities at the age of eight. She was detested by her father, Ramesh Tamang, who eventually left the family to marry for a second time. Her mother also married again, this time with Rajan Gurung, with whom she had two children. However, this marriage also fell apart and Gurung also left the house and the children.
An outfit that works for the rehabilitation of the disabled and helpless provided Rati a wheelchair long ago. On Monday, they also gave her with Rs 5,000 and 50 kg of rice, which is all that they have received to date.
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