Bhesh Raj Acharya, a resident of Babai, Belawa-7, Bardiaya moved to Kohalpur with his family after a tragic fire in his community destroyed all 83 houses including invaluable belongings and expensive livestock. After the incident, his family had to leave the school once classes resumed. The situation led them to move to Kohalpur where they owned a small plot of land in the community. Despite owning a piece of land in Kohalpur, he was not able to build a home due to his dire economic condition. The family was forced to take shelter in a small rented room and lived in substandard conditions. Now, with the accessibility of loan support through CLIFF Housing Program, he has managed to construct his house. 

 

This case was prepared while the family was building their houses in Kohalpur. 

 

CLIFF Housing Program – A light of hope!

 

Bhesh Raj Acharya, a resident of Babai, Belawa-7, Bardiaya moved to Kohalpur with his family after a tragic fire in his community destroyed all 83 houses including invaluable belongings and expensive livestock. While narrating his misery he said, we lost everything to the fire that broke out on April 18th 2013.  We didn’t even have extra clothes to change into after bathing in the river." He continued, we would have to remain in the river while our clothes dried. 

 

After the incident, they took refuge in a nearby school nearby for 16-17 days where the Red Cross and other organizations provided them with clothes and food. They had to leave the school once classes resumed. The situation led them to move to Kohalpur where they owned a small plot of land in the community. "We weren’t planning on building a house here, as we weren’t in the right financial circumstances. Actually we were planning on using the land to harvest vegetables," Mr Acharya said. 

 

Despite owning a piece of land in Kohalpur, he was not able to build a home due to his dire economic condition. The family was forced to take shelter in a small rented room and lived in substandard conditions. Sharing their misery he said, even after our migration here, we suffered from subpar living conditions.  At one point, a heavy storm blew the roof of our rental unit of its hinges. Our housing situation was looking grim.

 

The most distressing moment for them is that their elder daughter is still in trauma. She becomes anxious during storms as it reminds her of our troubled past. Sharing the moment Mrs Binita Pandey, wife of Mr Acharya, recalled, "Mostly my eldest daughter would say to me - we don't have a place to live in! We can’t afford even afford my books for school. How am I supposed to continue my education?” Mrs Pandey added, "We tried tirelessly to get out of poverty.  We would constantly be thinking of scenarios and plans. We used to spend half the night just planning."

 

Mr. Acharya agreed with his wife and said, "We had never once thought of building this house. We were hopeless. Thanks to Lumanti’s support, we are seeing a light of hope. After such a tragic incident, we couldn’t imagine building our own home."

 

Now, with the accessibility of loan support through CLIFF Housing Program, Mr Acharya has started construction on his new home and is anxiously awaiting the completion of the project.  He hopes that the new home can finally return happiness to the family. He said, "Now I am very glad that I will have my home, even if it’s small in size. With our new home comes new confidence.  We won’t have to tolerate ignorant comments about our living situations." "Just entering into our new home will erase all the sorrow and remorse that he had to endure," Mrs Pandey said.

 

Prepared By: Ananta Raj Bajracharya