After a period of waiting I was happy to be in Asmoli to see the real life of the villagers and the works we do. The villagers were welcoming and hospitable. They live a very poor life and lack the essentials like clothing, housing, education, medical facilities, clean water, etc. All members of a family share the same roof with animals like cows and goats and it causes further decline to the hygiene. Often it is difficult for us to imagine the poverty since we never see people in Belgium as poor as them. The children roaming around make me think that we made the right choice. Educating the new generation, we will bring orientation and development to the villages.

Incidents like Sunil, explained in the following article make us realize how difficult it is to introduce change to people living in a traditional set up. It takes time to change the old way of doing things. My gratitude to each of you for supporting this humanitarian work !

During one of my visits to Asmoli, a 17 year old youth called Sunil approched me to show his arm which was tied with bamboo stick around it. I could not see the injury and thought that it would be a small fracture. While talking he told me that he had a fall while working in our building construction, around 20 days ago. This news made me to have a closer look at his affected arm and I could see a bulge and the bone poking under the skin. I asked him if he has pain and he said he has severe pain all the time which is excruciating while being touched. I immediately enquired into the matter to know the actual happening.

Usually it is the contractor who employes these workers, taking the responsibility of treating them in the event of any mishap. Under such circumstances the contractor either get them treated or pay the daily wages till they are healed and able to work again. In this case the leader of the village who recruited the workers from the villages for the contractor made an agreement with him to have this boy treated by local healers. The agreement was that the contractor would pay Sunil his daily wages till he is cured and he will get himself treated. The father of the boy was happy with this agreement.

We immediately took Sunil to the nearest city and his arm was Xrayed. It was found that twin bones of his fore-arm were broken, one resting on the other. Any wrong move could have cost him his hand. We discussed this issue with his family members who did not accept the result of the Xray and insisted on continuing the treatment with the local practitioner who is treating him for the last 3 weeks. I visited this local man and was shocked to see him checking Sunil’s nerves on the leg and telling that his hand is healing. I understood that he didnt know its seriousness and is ignorant about modern treatment.

With the intention of finding a solution to the problem, we went to Sunil’s house. There we met his mother again and she said it is his father who takes decision if the boy should be send to the hospital or not. The father of Sunil, for reasons known to him, wanted to continue the treatment locally, may be he thought he would get the money from the contractor . We did not relent, but explained the consequences if the boy did not go to the hospital and did not get the surgery done.We assured them that they dont have to spend any money in this matter and that we will take care of his needs till he is alright.With the repeated visits and persuation, after 18 days the parents agreed, meanwhile the treatment period of the local man was finished and the bamboo sticks were removed and Sunil could not use his hand due to pain. On the 9th March Sunil was taken to the hospital and surgery was performed. Now he is completely cured.

In the rural settings in this part of the world, in a joint family, it is the father who takes decisions. In this event, Sunil, at the age of 17 was not able to decide for himself. This happens because he grows up in an environment where he has no chance to know the world beyond his village and he cannot think and take decisions. Young people like him follow any direction without knowing what is right and wrong. This is the general trend of the people in the villages.