Freed Kamlaris have been engaging themselves in various skill-based activities to uplift their economic status. Former Kamlari Kamala Chaudhary of Narti in Sonpur-1 runs ‘Anmol Bike Parts and Workshop’ along the East-West Highway at Lamahi. She had lived as a Kamlari in Kathmadu, Dharan and Biratnagar for seven years since she turned 13 due to poverty.
“People are often baffled watching a female repair their motorcycles,” Kamala said. After taking a six-month training at Bhaktapur and honing her skills working at different workshops for two years, she established the workshop with Rs 70,000 taken on loan from a cooperative operated by freed Kamlaris and Rs 200,000 she had saved by selling hair dye last year in June. “The income is decent and I save Rs 500 daily,” she said, who has even managed to provide employment for two others. Deprived of higher education due to financial limitations, Kamala said she believes she is living a dignified life.
Likewise, Renu Chudhary, 20, of Latkanya-4 in Kailali, who had been a Kamlari for six years is now an Auxiliary Nursing Midwife (ANM) at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Lamahi. She joined the civil service after finishing an 18-month course at Siddhartha Institute of Medical Technology in Tansen at the initiative of Nepal Youth Foundation (NYF). “I was a Kamlari since I was 10 and had to do all the household chores without a penny in return,” said Renu, who currently earns Rs 15,000 per month. “Although we still have economic problems, my earnings have been a relief,” added Renu, who is currently pursuing her Bachelors at Deukhuri Multiple Campus.
In another instance, former Kamlari Mina Chaudhary of Magahari in Gangaparaspur has started a beauty parlour in Lamahi after receiving Rs 50,000 as loan from Labajuni Cooperative run by freed Kamlaris. “We are capable of changing our lives,” Mina said, adding that it was imperative for their parents to understand the fact and free their daughters from slavery.
Along with the three, hundreds more ex-Kamlaris in the region are working towards self-sustainance. With a joint effort by the freed Kamlaris, 31 cooperatives have been established with 1650 members in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts and around 250 have started their own business with help from these cooperatives. The freed Kamlaris Development Forum stated that 12,776 Kamlaris have been freed and 5,457 of them were enrolled in schools in the five districts.
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