Manju Karki

Manju Karki

I am Manju Karki and my home is in Udaypur. My mother passed away when I was a child. About a year and a half after my mother’s death, father brought a second wife. When I was small I was very interested in going to school. I was jealous of the other village children who carried bags and went to school. But the condition at home was poor, so they didn’t send me to school. I too didn’t have the courage to ask them to send me. In this way time was passing in needs and wants.

Meanwhile I heard people in the village saying that Kathmandu was delightful and I too had a desire to visit Kathmandu. I told my parents that I wished to go to Kathmandu. Sometime during that time a ‘dai’ (elder brother) from the village came. He used to work along with his wife in a carpet factory in Samakhusi in Kathmandu. He said, “Okay, there she can learn the work as well as look after my child so I’ll take her.” My parents sent me happily. In this way I came to Kathmandu for the first time at the age of 10 years.

He took me straight to the carpet factory at Samakhusi. After coming to Kathmandu I stayed in ‘dai’s’ room for 15/20 days looking after the baby, washing dishes and didn’t do anything else. After some days ‘bhauju’ (dai’s wife or sister-in-law) taught me how to make a ball of wool. In this way slowly I had to do the housework, look after the baby, roll balls of wool, twist the wool etc. so I began to get sick frequently. I found it difficult so I asked them to send me home but they didn’t send me home. They kept my wages also. Slowly and with great difficulty, I learnt to weave carpets. After two years they shifted to the carpet factory in Budhanilkantha and took me with them.

After shifting to Budhanilkantha I too began to weave carpets but I started getting ill more frequently. In spite of being sick I had to bear it and work and later on my legs started to ache a little. Slowly I couldn’t move them at all. ‘Dai’ took me for treatment and I took medicines but it wasn’t cured. For 13 days I was admitted to the hospital and ‘dai’ bore all the medicine costs. The next time the factory employer paid four weeks and six weeks medicine and transportation cost to and from the hospital. Too much of medicine made me weak and my leg broke. Again I had to be treated. ‘Dai’ asked someone and arranged free food and stay and medicine at the Teaching Hospital. For four months I stayed at the room in Budhanilkantha. Although my leg was fractured I did what work I could like, rolling and spinning the wool, preparing the food etc. Later the sir from this Center spoke to ‘dai’ about bringing me here. The center treated my leg and a new plaster was put. After all arrangements were made I was brought here on 30th Oct. 2000. After coming to the Center my plaster was changed once more.

I am very happy here. After coming here I am being looked after very well. Everyone loves me. I get to eat on time and the place is also pleasant and clean. At present I don’t have to do any work. Thinking of the time at the factory where I had to work even when I was sick brings tears to my eyes. A ‘didi’ (elder sister) comes and teaches me in the room. After coming here my desire to study has also been fulfilled. While staying here I am going to labor hard and study. After learning to read and write I wish to learn sewing. After learning to sew I wish to take it up as my occupation. But who knows what the future will be like?