Wheelchair is not just a device but part of my body: Service matters

Kamala Ghimire is a 41 years old woman with spinal cord injury (SCI). When she was just 28 years old, she fell down from a tree while collecting tree fodders for her livestock in her village called Mahangkaal. Despite her disability, she loves to do things independently and moves around too. As the roads of Nepal are not wheelchair friendly and it is more complicated to move around during the rainy season. Due to this, wheelchairs need regular repairing service and bearing its cost was a bit challenging, Kamala added.

Repair and maintenance service of wheelchairs is a life-long needed thing. However, she is very thankful for the service provided by Bikash's Wheelchair Workshop (BWW). According to her, she got a wheelchair 2 times from Sundar Dhoka Saathi Sewa (SDSS) and regular repairing service from BWW, this service has increased her quality of life with freedom in mobility and less economic burden for me.

Kamala lives nearby SDSS and she also volunteers part time here. Her unforgettable moment with BWW is, once in the festival time, almost all the shops are closed in Kathmandu including SDSS. Unfortunately, suddenly her wheelchair stops moving, as she is fully dependent on her wheelchair for mobility including activity of daily living (ADL), issues in the wheelchair makes her day awful. She called an in-charge of BWW and instantly she got another wheelchair from BWW. She is so thankful for that moment as it was not possible to repair her wheelchair anywhere during that time. Service really matters, stopping the wheelchair stops everything.