Dhading, February 18:

Santa Kumari, wife of Jeet Man Pariyar, of Jogimara VDC-2 in Dhading district, says she gave birth to 26 children due to lack of awareness on health and family planning.

Santa Kumari says she gave birth to her first child at the age of 17. Then on, she kept on delivering children every year till she was 43.

However, only seven of the Pariyar couple are alive now and all other died at early childhood.

Answering a query, she says, “We accepted whatever god gave us”.

“Of the 26 children, 19 died young. My seven children — four sons and three daughters — are alive,” Santa Kumari says.

She was married to Jeet Man Pariyar at the age of 16.

Health and education services are not available at the remote village of Jawang.

The Pariyar couple does not have enough land to cultivate to sustain the family. It has taken to orange farming.

“We are supporting our family by selling oranges and working as daily wage earners. However, we have not been able to send all our children to school,” Santa Kumari says.

While her eldest son has already got married, the youngest son Raj Kumar is studying in class six at the Sankhadevi Secondary School.

“Owing to lack of education and awareness, we gave birth to many children. We have suggested our son and daughter-in-law not to have more than two children,” she says, adding: “I am suffering from diseases because I gave birth to many children.”