The floods and landslides across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading didn’t just tear through mountain roads, writes Nepali social activist and founder of YPD Nepal, Tirtha Poudel.
Triggered by devastating glacial outbursts and extreme mountain weather, they shattered life in quiet, rural villages in his home region of Barbardiya, hundreds of kilometres away.
Among those swept away or buried were 25 daily wage workers. Coming from the marginal Chaudhary community, many of these families carry a history of former bonded labor (Kamaiya), having spent generations breaking free from debt to build a life of their own.
Facing a severe shortage of local jobs in their home district, these men had no choice but to migrate up north. They took on high-risk, grueling physical work as laborers on mountain hydropower projects, driven solely by the hope of sending money back home.
Back in these rural settlements, where simple mud-and-thatch homes sit beside small patches of land, losing these 25 workers means the complete collapse of 25 entire households.
In these remote corners of Bardiya, life is already a fragile daily struggle. Families do not have savings accounts, land assets, or safety nets to fall back on. They live literally from one wage payment to the next.
The workers who migrated were not just earning extra cash. They were the single economic pillar keeping three generations afloat. Now, having lost both their loved ones and their primary livelihood, these families are left with no clear path on how to sustain their lives in the months ahead.
Loss of breadwinners
With their sudden loss, the mothers left behind face an agonising daily reality. How does a woman caring for a six-month-old infant put food on the table when the worker who supported them is gone?
In a rural village where job shortages persist and virtually no local work exists, a mother nursing a baby cannot simply step out and do heavy physical labor. She is caught in an impossible position, grieving her lost partner while staring at an empty kitchen, wondering how to buy basic grains or milk.
Then there are the elderly parents. In these Chaudhary households, aging parents relied entirely on their working sons for basic survival, healthcare, and dignity in their final years. Many of these elderly mothers and fathers already suffer from age-related ailments. Suddenly, they have lost the worker who carried their burdens. They find themselves completely helpless, unable to afford simple blood pressure medication or basic daily necessities.
When a sole breadwinner disappears from a family living on the absolute edge, poverty turns into an immediate crisis. It means elderly parents skipping meals, young mothers bearing an overwhelming weight of grief and survival, and infants facing malnutrition before they can even walk.
Rebuilding stability in these rural homes will take time, care, and genuine empathy. For families that fought so hard to move past historical bondage only to be stripped of their only workers, even the smallest bit of help can offer a vital lifeline. It can mean a mother being able to feed her baby today, an elderly parent getting basic medicine, and a grieving family finding enough strength to sustain their lives through the hard months ahead.
“The families are in really miserable condition,” reports Tirtha, who has served for thirteen years as honorary chairperson of a community hospital, the Barbadiya Nagar Hospital.
“To date, families have not received a single rupee (of assistance),” he observes.
“Today (13 September) is the festival of Dar Khane Din, the eve of a major women’s festival, Haritalika Teej.
“But few families are celebrating because they don’t have anything. They were dependent on the wages of their lost husbands,” he lamented.
Tirtha Poudel, who is coordinating this project, has over thirty years experience in community developing. He also personally sponsors ten school children for their education as well as another six people suffering from sickle cell anemia.
For the last five years, he has worked as a volunteer in the community, serving a variety of organisations including JCI, Rotary, Youth Initiative, PSD Nepal and the Human Welfare and Environment Protection Centre (HWEPC).
How can we help?
Tirtha and the hospital committee have compiled an indicative list of immediate family needs, including:
Food
1. Eggs and milk for a month (cash support)
2. Oil for cooking
3. Lentils
4. Sugar
5. Salt
6. Dry food
7. Rice 25kg
8. Food for nursing and expectant mothers
9. Other kitchen items
Clothing and bedding
10. Dress for kids- 2 pair
11. Dress for women: 2 pairs
12. Bed sheets
13. Blankets
Health
14. Sanitary items (soap, toilet paper…)
15. Sanitary pads
16. Food for mothers
Other consumables
17. To be provided as possible