JANAKPURDHAM, Aug 13: The happiness of Maladevi Mandal of Jaleshwor-2, Mahottari knew no bounds after she knew that she was pregnant two years after tying the knot with Ramanadan Mandal.

Her husband has been managing their livelihood with the money earned from working on others' fields. There was a different kind of glow on her face while the baby was in her womb but that faded as soon as she delivered the baby daughter.That to her was the worst tragedy she had ever experienced. However, it was not because she gave birth to a girl but because her child was born with only one leg. More than raising her daughter, she was worried about dealing with the hatred of the society. She recalls how some of her family members suggested her to kill her daughter by slashing her throat or by throwing her into a river.

However, she was not ready to snatch her daughter's right to live. Maladevi and her husband believed that their daughter would one day become the light of their life. They named her 'Khusbu'. Ten years later, their daughter who is a third grader in a nearby residential school wants to become a teacher in future.

"Our society is engulfed with various kinds of myths and misconceptions. So, I want to become a teacher in future to eliminate such things," shared Khusbu.

Though she is too young to talk about life and challenges, she says her single foot cannot be an obstruction in pursuing her dream as long as she has self-confidence.

On Friday, in the assembly of Janakpur based Marwadi Sewa Samiti, Khusbu like many of her friends got the opportunity to stand on both of her feet for the first time in ten years.Janakpur Marwadi Yuwa Manch offered artificial legs to 24 people like Khusbu with the technical assistance of Kathmandu Marwadi Sewa Samiti (MSS).

In 1985, Ganga Prasad Yadav who was preparing for School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination lost one of his feet while trying to get into Jaynagar-Janakpur train. After getting under the wheels, his right leg was detached from his body immediately. He could not even appear in the SLC exams. To his delight, he was provided with an artificial leg 33 years later.Meanwhile, Ratneshwor Kayastha, Governor of Province 2, appreciated MSS for their efforts to ease the lives of disabled people like Govinda and Khusbu.

According to him, their work should be a lesson for many.Caption: Maladevi Mandal and her daughter Khusbu attending a program of Marwadi Sewa Committee, Janakpur

 
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