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In rural Nepal, 80-year-old man doesn’t let age get in his way

Wednesday, 13 January 2016 10:17 GMT

Sete sits with his granddaughter.

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Living up in the hills of Sindhuli, a district in Nepal about three hours east of Kathmandu, the capital, 80-year-old Sete Kami has seen his fair share of life. After the earthquake on 25 April, he slept in a temporary shelter and has given no thought to building a new house due to his age and lack of resources.

But he’s not going to let that get him down. From early in the morning he’s busy fixing wood for the fire and preparing food for the goats and buffalos while the rest of the family sleep on the ground floor of their damaged house.

Head of the house

Sete has a lot of responsibilities. His son and wife died few years back and his daughter in law, Chameli, is the only wage earner in the family. But she suffers from health problems associated with giving birth to two children at such a young age, a result of getting married at age 15, a common occurrence in rural Nepal. Her meagre income is barely enough to buy salt, oil and rice for the family.

"When Chameli goes out to work, I have to stay at home and work from early morning to late at night. If I didn't work, my buffalo and goats would die,” says Sete.

With the money earnt from his goats, Sete buys stationery and milk for the children and family, contributing what he can to keep everyone safe and happy.  

The majority of the people in this community are poor, with no regular income sources, leaving them dependent on wage labour. We at Plan International Nepal have been working in this area for the last four years to support education needs, improve sanitation facilities and behaviours, and find new ways for people to make a living.

One of our recent programme was getting the community declared open-defecation free – and of course Sete was part of that, building a toilet for his family. Before having such a facility, they had to relieve themselves in the bushes, which causes all sorts of problems.

Education on his mind

Sete has a lot on his mind, like finding ways to stop the pesky neighbourhood monkeys from wrecking his family’s crops, but top of his list is ensuring his 2 grandchildren get their education – no guarantee when you live in such an isolated area.

His grandchildren go to a public school where we have been supporting children with education materials and safe drinking water. Every now and then, Sete’s grandchildren miss class due to money problems at home or the long walk to school or having household chores to do. This doesn’t sit well with Sete, who encourages the kids to continue studying for their futures.

The children don’t always listen to him, which is frustrating, but that won’t stop him shouting, "You should read, otherwise you will get in trouble!” at every opportunity.

I was so inspired by Sete, an active man advocating on the importance of education despite having his own troubles.

A solid salute to Sete!

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