According to Rajendra Ghimire, president of the Lamjung Blind Association, skill-based training has been provided to visually impaired and physically disabled citizens for self-employment and income generation.
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Som Bahadur Gurung of Sundarbazar Municipality-7 in Lamjung has been blind since childhood. He has been walking with the help of a white cane and has undergone a three-day training course in making harpic, phenyl and zhol soap.
Not only him, but Parbati Gurung of Dordi Rural Municipality-3, Shreemanjyang has also undergone the same training. Although we can learn a lot by looking, both of them have been able to make harpic, zhol phenyl and zhol soap from the raw materials used to make these products. They have already learned how much of each raw material is needed to make which material.
‘It is better to learn and do something than just sit at home,’ said Som Bahadur, ‘This three-day training has taught us that we can work on our own and earn some money.’ According to Parbati, it is difficult for all visually impaired people to do these tasks alone. However, if they get the support of their family, they can do these tasks easily. She said that after bringing the raw materials in the required quantity and mixing them in a vessel and dissolving them, Harpic, Phenyl and Zhol soaps will be made. “Now, if you can earn some money, you can make them at home,” she said.
16 blind and physically disabled people like Som Bahadur and Parvati can now make Harpic, Phenyl and Zhol soaps. They were trained for three days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday by the Nepal Blind Association for Inclusive Development Action Project. Bishnu Pokharel, secretary of the Lamjung Blind Association, said that 2/2 people from all eight municipalities of Lamjung were invited to the training given in Sundarbazar Municipality-9, Siundibar, but some from the local level did not participate, so they took advantage of the facility because they are blind and physically disabled people from nearby municipalities.
According to trainer Gopal Adhikari, hydrochloric acid, Harpic gel or paste and blue paint are required to make Harpic. To make liquid soap, you need acid celery, caustic soda, urea fertilizer, salt, dyes and aromatic substances. For phenyl, you need concentrated phenyl. It is made by dissolving it in the required amount of water. ‘If the necessary materials are available, the blind can make these materials,’ he said.
According to Rajendra Ghimire, president of the Lamjung Blind Association, skill-based training has been provided to the blind and physically disabled citizens for self-employment and income generation. ‘We cannot see. That does not mean that we cannot do anything. We can do many things ourselves, we can do some with the help of helpers,’ he said. According to him, even if the blind do not have the ability to see, they have all the abilities.
According to Prem Maharjan, the Nepal Blind Association for Inclusive Development, the project rehabilitation officer, it has been actively working for advocacy, empowerment and accessibility for the inclusive development of blind and other disabled citizens. He said that it has been running various projects and awareness-raising programs to increase the access of blind youth to reproductive health, inclusive education, and technology.
Mitakumari Thapa, head of the Integrated Services Office, said that even if one can become self-reliant and self-employed, the financial burden on the family will be reduced. Stating that businesses should be operated only by registering, she said that businesses can be registered easily based on the availability of necessary documents. 'There is no problem in registering.' The business should be operated continuously. If registered and renewed, it will also be easy to get grants,' she said.
Gandaki Province Minister for Forests and Environment Bhesh Bahadur Poudel emphasized the need to become self-reliant rather than dependent. 'Friends with disabilities should boost their morale.' "Disability is not our weakness," he said. "We have to struggle, try, work hard, and apply ourselves. We have to present the abilities we have. We should acquire skills in what is safe and comfortable and use them in life."
