As many as eight siblings of Tamang’s family have been suffering from various disabilities. After this daily carried a report about the family’s plight on December 24, some four youths of Phidim had taken the initiative to collect funds to support the family.

Ram Prakash Gurung (Samathing), Mangal Bahadur Begha, Naresh Angbo and Bhawani Tawa of Phidim Bazaar today handed over a newly-built two-room house and other items to the Tamang family.

Of the eight children, two sons and two daughters of Harkabir are living with disabilities. While Harkabir, 61, is himself a mental patient and unable to provide for the family given his old age, it is his wife who has been feeding the entire family at the age of 63. As per doctors, polio had caused the disability among Harkabir’s children.

Speaking on the occasion today, Ram Prakash said the house was made through labour donated by local volunteers for a month. “Apart from the house, we have handed over food stuffs and other logistics worth Rs 2 lakh to the family. We managed to collect the support from various philanthropists and organisations,” he said. Ram Prakash had coordinated the entire campaign.

While Harkabir’s eldest son Khadga Bahadur, 37, developed disability at the age of 12, his daughter Sirmaya, 21, could not move her limbs from the tender age of three. Similarly, his other son Mahendra, 22, and youngest daughter Tara, 17, can hardly move after their limbs started to shrink.

Of them, Shirmaya is bed-ridden since early age and doesn’t have a citizenship card. As for Khadga Bahadur, he has been receiving the disability allowance since the last six months. Apparently, the two others haven’t received any government allowance so far.