- Rajesh Karki
The Chepang are an indigenous Tibeto-Burman ethnic group mainly inhabiting the rugged ridges of the Mahabharat mountain range of central Nepal. Over the past two or three generations, the Chepang have begun to slowly shift from a semi-nomadic lifestyle to a more settled way of life, relying increasingly upon the production of permanent fields of maize, millet, and bananas. The Chepang have often been characterized as the poorest of Nepal’s poor. Chepang men and women are basically egalitarian and no social ranking exists as it does in caste Nepalese society. Many Chepang cannot read and write due to a lack of education beyond elementary school, and this illiteracy stands in contrast to the great gains Nepal has been making in reducing illiteracy.
This piece has been written focusing on the life of a 12-year-old boy belonging to Chepang Community of Nepal whose name is Prem Chepang. He comes from Kami Bhanjyang a place that requires 2-hour walk from Mungling. He currently lives with his family consisting of 6 members including his parents. Prem Chepang is enrolled in Grade 5 at Navodaya School at Tadhi, Chitwan. He doesn’t have access to basic facilities required to live a proper life. What’s interesting is in past 12 years of his life, he has not celebrated his birthday not even once because he has led him to forget his date of birth therefore, I should think that we should do this to him as all of us know that birthday is very important.
The house where he currently resides was damaged twice firstly from the major earthquake in April 2015 and secondly due to a landslide. Currently, they have been compelled to in a temporary shelter that has been keeping them safe from external environment but during the rainy season and winter time life becomes difficult due to water leakage and freezing cold due to the temporary structure of the house made out of zinc metal. For their survival, they depend upon seasonal agriculture which lasts for about 3-4 months in a year. The remaining months, the family is often hit hard by the recession. The family has found their livelihood almost settled in the village away from mainstream activities and lifestyles of the city areas.
He is very much interested in music that also has a mesmerizing voice and can perform songs in his native language as well as the Nepali language. But so far, there have been limitations to the songs that he has come across. In order to take the initial step to help this he explore his potentials, Pariwartak wants to introduce him to the outside world in a manner that helps him pursue his dreams without any restraints. Pariwartak wants to provide him with quality education and a lifestyle that every child deserves. We want to bring him to Kathmandu and provide educational support until high school and make him capable enough to move forward in his life. We want to introduce and preserve Chepang and their native language by recording and releasing Chepang songs sung by him.
Pariwartak is a youth-led non-governmental organization established in 2018 A.D., which in short period has established its name through the initiatives such as “Library of Dreams”, “Zero-Bribe – A movement against Corruption” and “Pariwartan ka Pahila haru”. While “Pariwartan” implies change, “Pariwartak” means we are the one to change. At Pariwartak, we believe that educated, employed, and engaged young people possess the power to solve the world’s toughest problems. It’s our responsibility to introduce and preserve Chepang culture and their language nationally/internationally and also include them in mainstream population. Therefore, let us join our hands together to provide support for Prem Chepang and Chepang community as a whole.
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To Contribute:
Bank Name: Nabil Bank Account Name: Pariwartak Bank Account Number: 3401017501178 Swift Code: NARBNPKA
