The coronavirus lockdown in Nepal has left a legacy of suffering. Without work and facing starvation, over 1,000 people have taken their own lives in the past three months. CSI is providing hope for the future by helping some of those who have lost their livelihoods to set up in business.
Bhakta Bahadur Chepang lives with his family in a village in the south of Nepal. For years he worked selling produce at the market eking out a living to support his family of five.
When the lockdown was imposed in March, Bhakta lost his work from one day to the next. For three months he has not been able to earn a living. Now, with start-up support from CSI, Bhakta and his wife are planning to begin raising goats. With ten goats they hope to be self-sufficient and to have enough money to send their three children to school.
Kamuram Chepang and his family live as landless people in a simple village in the south. They moved there after their house and land was swept away by a devastating flood. After ten years in the village, Kamuram still has no registration papers and no secure employment.
Since the government-imposed coronavirus restrictions came into place, Kamuram has not been able to work. Now, with CSI support, he and his wife want to start a chicken farm. They hope to be self-supporting in a short time.
Bhakta and Kamuram are both extremely grateful for the support they have received that allows them to feed their families. Their despair has been transformed into hope for the future. They both ask for prayers that their new ventures will succeed.