Though children across the country are excited about the upcoming Dashain and Tihar festivals, visually-impaired children studying at Shodashadevi Higher Secondary School in Mangalsen said they have no one to support them during the celebrations.

Twelve-year-old Laxmi Thapa of Basti VDC in district said there’s no one to buy her new clothes for the Dashain festival as her father died three years ago while her mother passed away when she was just one.

Thapa, who is learning Braille script at the school, said she has not received any new dress for the past four years. “The last time I received a new dress was when my father offered me Gunyu Choli [a Nepali dress gifted to young girls],” she said.

“I want to wear new clothes this Dashain if there’s no one to support me,” Thapa said, adding she has no clothes other than school dress that she has been wearing for the past two years.

Another visually-impaired student, Bahadur Saud, 18, of Bhatakatiya-4 also shared a similar ordeal. Saud, who is now studying in tenth grade, said he also hoped to get new clothes for the festival. “I have been wearing the same clothes from the past four years,” he said. His mother also died when he was a toddler.

There are seven visually-impaired students studying in the school. Headmaster Shivaraj Jaisi said almost all of the students belong to poor families but there’s no one to take care of Thapa and Saud.