Bajura, September 10

Five brothers and sisters of a family have been left in a lurch after their father died of cancer and their mother remarried another man at Man Gaun of Badimalika Municipality, Bajura.

Ram Bahadur Saud, died of cancer at the age of 43. Ten months after the death of her husband, Birma Saud  got married to another man.

Following the death of their father and mother’s marriage to another, Parbati, 13, Sobina, 11, Ashmita, 9, Subash, 7, and Roshan, 4, have been left in a difficult situation. These five kids do not have any relatives in the village.

Ram Bahadur’s sister, Jamuna Badhuwal of Kordh in Badimalika Municiplaity looked after the children for a while. But, pressed by her family, Jamuna left and the kids were again abandoned.

According to Parbati, her mother went to hospital after her father died and did not return home. “We came to know later that our mother was married to another man,” Parbati said with tearful eyes. Our father’s sister came to our help, but she returned home and there’s no one to support us, Parbati added.

Out of five siblings, four are enrolled at the local Kailaseswori Secondary School. Parbati is an eighth grader, Sobin is studying in Grade 1, Ashmita in Grade 2, and Subash in Grade 1.

Parbati has not attended classes for the past one month. “I have stopped attending classes as I have to manage food for my younger siblings,” Parbati said. The kids go to bed on empty stomach many times. “We wear clothes provided by others. We do not have stationery and dress to go to school and everybody in the village humiliates us for our lack of parents,” Parbati said.

All five children are malnourished, said Ward Chair Bal Bahadur Thapa.

Ward Chair Thapa appealed to organisations and individuals to support the children with food, care and education.