Ranjana from Nepal, one-hand winner
“I am Ranjana Dhami.
I’m 27 years old. Originally my family comes from Nijgadh Bara in south-eastern Nepal. My family belongs to the Tharu community, which is indigenous to the Terai area of Nepal. Terai is the plain territory of south Nepal. The tradition of my family is farming, but because of the hard situation of the Nepal economy, my father doesn’t have any income from his work. Then to manage money by myself I should go to the capital.
Currently, I live in Jawalakhel, Dhobigat Lalitpur (named also Patan, one of three old capitols of Nepal), south of Kathmandu city. I have recently completed my Bachelor of Social Work and pursuing my Master Degree in Sociology from Padma Kanya Multipal Campus in Kathmandu.
I’m a person with a physical disability. I don’t have my right hand below my elbow since birth. However, my impairment hasn’t hindered my abilities in any way. I can do all my daily activities as well as my professional activities easily. The only thing that sometimes makes me feel disabled is the attitude of people looking at me, other than I can basically do everything that I’m asked during study or work.
I’m also very much involved in Para Sports. I play Taekwondo. I have traveled to five different countries to play for Nepal – our nation. I have also won 3 bronze and 1 silver medal in different international tournaments and one gold medal in the national tournament. During these Travels and exposure, I got a chance to foreign communication and boost up my confidence, and level up my English skills.
During my bachelor study, I completed my internship with two different organizations, where I learned valuable lessons and skills that would be important for this UN submit.
In the first year of my study, I was placed as an intern at Nutrition Rehabilitation Home. This is a project of the Nepal Youth Foundation that provides intensive care and support to children who are suffering from malnutrition and also to those children who had some form of physical disability. My job there was to look after these children and to provide the necessary care as guided by the supervisor. There I also provided some counseling to some mothers of these children who were sad by seeing the state of their children.
I also learn to do data collection. I assist doctors who checked up on these children and then I used to document all the details provided by them of each child. I also learned about a balanced diet that should be provided to children for their proper development. These skills will be valuable in my life.
In the second year of my studies, I did an internship with Nepal Academy Psychology, Sanepa Lalitpur. This is organization provided services purely based on psychology to various children who were different physically and mentally than general children. My role there was often teaching assistant, where I used to teach physical exercise, arts, and crafts, drawing, painting, etc. At Academy, children were happy and excited to do these activities with me. I believe that the skills I learned here are doing orientation on different topics, organizing public outreach, and tell people about different things.
Presently my usual day looks as follows: I wake up at 5 am, brush my teeth, and do my taekwondo training for 1,5 an hour. Now with the entire world in lockdown, I have to train alone. Around seven o’clock I go for my 1 hour of uphill running. With a better financial budget, I would have a breakfast made of eggs with chickpeas and milk, but recently I have been enjoying only the traditional masala chai. Then I do my training or studies through a webinar. Meanwhile, I cook something to eat, most often daal, a Nepalese lentil sauce with vegetables such as eggplant, ladies fingers, and potatoes, sometimes also with rice. Sometimes I also do cycle rides in the morning or evening or both. Around 8 p.m. I eat dinner, and at 11 p.m. I go to bed.
Coming to the end of this essay, after finishing my master degree I am planning to apply abroad for a job where I can build up my future. Presently I don’t know about the facility or placement abroad, so, if you could help me it will be great.”
Ranjana Dhami, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal
email: dhami.ranja2073@gmail.com mobile: +9779841676325
Ranjana Dhami
