To have a physical disability doesn't mean that you can't live a normal life with family,job and friends............

To have a physical disability doesn't mean that you can't live a normal life with family,job and friends, Rehabilitation therapy Devkala Parajuli Who has had a stiff leg since she was five,is one of courage,family support, ignorance and prejudice. My parents did't think i should go away and get an education because i am disabled and because i am woman,but my brother said that i needed to become independent" Devakala tells me as we sit down in her sunny inviting office. I have come to meet her in Bhrikuti Mandap the premises of the social welfare council of kathmandu to explor how inclusion can work in practice.
Devkala is a talented young woman, who has definitely reached the goal that her brother envisioned for her back in the village.She exudes self confidence and satisfaction with a job that enables her to help orthers with problems like her own Devkala works at a rehabilitation center sponsored by Handicap international. here she treats all kinds of disabilities together with another Rehabilitation therapy assistant Ganga and a Physiotherapist Kalpana Basnet. Today she is training an elderly man with a broken spine by gently stretching and bending his leg,but the photo in her office tells the stroy of many different kinds of destinies.
Devkala has worked in the center 3 years and before that she spent a year in Bngalore,India to learn about rehabilitation Therapy, a training sponsored by HI"The best thing about the job is that it gives me the opportunity to work for orther in the same position as my self" she emphasises and adds that she is devoted"to make sure that coming generation gets a more open attude towards fellow citizens with disabilites"
So far,her own story has already changed the opinions and prejudgment of a great deal of people around the country.Devkala grew up in a small village near Pokhara. When she was five experienced problem with polio.Her leg got stiff and until she was 22 she could only walk with one hand on her knee"and especially in a village in the hill area that is very diffcult" she explains.at 22 she got a KAFO(A knee Ankle Foot Orthosis) which means that she can walk upright but with a visible limb.
From shy girk to self reliant woman
when she finished primary school her brother who had just returned from a study in india,persuaded her parents to let her proceed to secondary education and after that she started working as a teacher but as it was too far away from her home she had to resgin and instead she found a job as a technical assistant. After that her brother urget her to go college"At that time i was so shy" she smiles. I used to hide in my room when new people entered I was hiding because people would look at me and say;Oh see she has got that. Which made me feel bad" She says as her smile fades. In Kathnabdu I never face that kind of Problem and also now I believe in myself;If someone talks bad to me i ask them to come and sho me what it is that they can do and I can't .
After collage and 1 N half years training in nursing,Devkala got a job with family planing in Kabilvastu.From that job she recalls a particular incidence with a man who approached a training asking inappropriate question about how babies are made to harass her."because i am disabled and coz I ma a woman,he thought he could do that",She adds "don't say these things, I could be your sister or ur morther and we never know what will happen to us tomorrow,also you could became disabled,It can happen to anyone" after these words the man did not bother Devkala again.

When the job in Kabilbastu ended, Devkala got a position with a nutrition programme in Jumla in the mid western hills"at that time there was no roade so we had to fly,She recalls.It was hard to move to a remote place like that especially as she brought her husband and young son and it was also diffcult because of the verry

prejudiced opinions of many villagers. "They have not gone to school so they dont know any better" she explains and tells about an incidence of a disabled new born whose morther beaten coz orthers thought that evil spirits were the reason for the disability"She did't want to bring the child to us and even after I Persuaded her to show me thae baby and explained that it was not her fault and that she should care for the baby,She did't feed it properly and it died after eight month" Devkala recalls Unfortunately the woman is only one out of many examples of mistreated disabled children"And that is why I am Dedicated to go back and work to change the attitude of villagers" Devkala emphasizes.
Seemingly,Devkala has never had problems getting a job but she says that each time has been a struggle. Every time they have looked at me and asked If I really thought I was able to do the job" She says And then When they see me work they are surprised! All through the years she has enjoyed the support of her family.And that is quit exceptional; Most families do not want a disabled girl leave home they dont understand that the independence that education can give will help a girl with disabilites to create a normal life for herself.