The Chepang community
living in the hilly areas of Chitwan, Makwanpur and Dhading are now in danger
of change. The lifestyle of the community, which has been living by digging
ditches for a long time, is changing. The Chepang community, confined to
the mountains, is expanding.
Improvements in education and health have started to be seen
with the initiatives of state organs and social organizations. Until a few
years ago, the children of this community were deprived of education. Even the
financial condition of Chepang community was not able to provide quality
education to the children. There was no access to healthcare. They did not even
receive cetamol for safe delivery and fever. Now these conditions are slowly
improving.
The extremely marginalized Chepang community has not yet reached
100 percent of the basic services provided by the state. But due to the
expansion of technology and awareness, the new generation of this community is
gradually moving away from the daily life of traditional Bhirpakha. The new
generation seems to be moving in the direction of change.
Recently, the country's structural changes and constitutional
arrangements have brought this community to the leadership level. After
reaching the leadership, they have also started to see opportunities. The
access of people from the Chepang community to the state agencies has started
to increase. Due to the lack of education, the people of Chepang community were
not able to make use of the opportunities they got, recently, as the educated
population is increasing, the awareness of how to make use of the opportunities
is also starting to increase in the Chepang community. At one time Chepang's
reading seemed like a dream. It seemed that education was for children. Even
though there was a primary level school in the village, secondary level
education was like an iron chin for the children of our community. At present,
there is no infrastructure for secondary and higher education studies in the
villages. But because of the development of belief that one should study in
Chepang, participation in education is increasing.
Chitwan's government initiative alone is not enough to advance
the Chepang community in education. Here, the number of Chepang children going
to school is increasing due to the initiative of some organizations and social
organizations. Seeing the constraints and constraints of the Chepang community,
open social organizations have given priority to education. There are many who
see the face of the school because of those organizations. Recently, even in
the hilly areas, the construction of roads and the improvement and upgrading of
school services and facilities seem to have created a learning environment.
According to the census data of 2068, only 23 percent of people
in Chepang community were literate. According to the annual report of the
Tribal Tribes Commission 2077/78, the number of literate Chepang has reached
48.88 percent. This also highlights the need for education for the development
of marginalized communities and the urgency of the changes it brings. Even
though there has been improvement in education and the presence of the Chepang
community in state agencies, there are still challenges ahead of us.
Education is the first priority to advance the community. But
due to the geographical difficulty of the area where the Chepang community
resides, the lack of schools and lack of finances, Chepang children and youth
have not been able to become an environment where they can move forward
confidently. Still there is lack of awareness in Chepang settlement. Difficult
geography and poverty are obstacles to the progress of the Chepang community.
Children still have to walk for hours to reach school. As a result, many
children do not go to school. After not going to school, they fall into the
trap of child marriage and child labor.
The government has given the right of education up to the
secondary level to the local level. Now the structural access of the local
level has been established to the house. Therefore, it is seen that the
municipality should take initiative to improve the educational conditions of
the Chepang community.
The initiative of some non-governmental organizations for the
educational improvement of Chepang children is significant. For 9 years,
Lakshmi Pratishthan has been conducting a project for educational improvement
in Rapti Municipality-12 and 13. With the aim of providing access to education
for the children of the Chepang community, the Kumar-Balram Hostel is being
operated in Kanda for free. Because of this hostel, many children have got the
opportunity of education.
has been running the free Kumar-Balram Smriti Hostel at Chaunrideurali-4,
Dhusini, Kavre for 5 years to provide educational opportunities to the children
of Kanda and surrounding areas. So far 190 children are getting education
opportunities in both places. For more than a decade, Chepang Center of
Gambansi has been running a free hostel for Chepang children in Manglapur of
Ratnanagar Municipality of Chitwan.
150 children are still studying in that hostel with residential
facilities. Some people who studied in that hostel are now working in health,
education and technical fields in Chepang village after completing their higher
education. After getting the opportunity of education, the youth of Chepang
community have entered the government and non-government sector. After being
informed about their rights and entitlements, the Chepang community has become
aware. The people of the community, who were previously limited to grass
firewood and labour, have started earning their livelihood by running various
enterprises. A limited community has started spreading in Bhirpakha until a few
years ago.
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