Anandaban Hospital

Ram Bahadur

Ram Bahadur is from the Eastern Terai. He moved to Kathmandu after he married in search of work.

In 1997, a year after having arrived in Kathmandu he became seriously ill. His wife, with help from neighbours took him to a Wednesday clinic at Patan Hospital, where he was diagnosed with leprosy with ENL reaction. He was admitted to Anandaban and stayed for two months. Prior to discharge Ram Bahadur applied to the Rehabilitation Committee for a loan to start a shop.

One of the hospital staff went to his house for an initial assessment. He has built a house in a slum area on the banks of the Bishnumati River. The area is home to squatters who, like Ram Bahadur have come to the city in search of work and settled there.

Ram Bahadur and his wife has two children, the older is of school age.

The earnings from his shop are just sufficient for subsistence. He continues to run his business despite harassment from local police who have closed it down on two occasions due to its location on a public footpath. He is required to pay a fine in order to reopen, the amount of which exceeds the value of the shop. This difficulty causes him much discouragement.