12 Jul Prejudice in Ignorance
“Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Subhash Nemwang all made big promise. But to no avail, as the promises that were made were not kept” states the young boy, with sparkle in his eyes, fury in his voice and an unseen positive vibes he gives in his presence. Sudip Bhattarai, a 19 year old young boy who dreams big and who is giving everything to make his dream come true being an HIV positive himself has devoted his life in this field. The government he says made promises of giving allowances, facilities and much more to children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS but they are still waiting for the day when the promises are put into action.
Sudip says, ‘I have had a very challenging childhood; I have been through a lot facing many upheavals in life. I have been thrown out of school after disclosing my status, ill-treated at hospitals and many more. My utmost desire is that no other child has to walk through same rough road. I devote my spare time spending time with CABA (Children Affected By AIDS) and look for ways to support them’.
He works as a full time staff at HERD (Health Research and Social Development Forum). He is also actively involved in YKAP (Young Key Affected Population) and CABA. He thinks that the society has been positively reciprocating on the issue but as of now it is very disheartening when well-educated people especially in hospital setting still have discriminatory attitude towards them. Sudip also stresses that the Nepali government should give equal opportunity to all irrespective of their status and background.
He wants to unite all the youth together to build a better society, which is free of stigma and discrimination and where every other individual is viewed as a person.
(Note: The Human Face Team was enthralled to have such a persuasive person on our show who we believe is instrumental in encouraging all the youth to be the agent of change and give back to the society)
Thank You
SAATH & The Human Face Team