December 3, 2024
PANBANG – Fifty-two-year-old Tshedar and fifty-six-year-old Chamchi, a disabled couple from the remote Kaktong village in Zhemgang, have moved into a new home after years of enduring hardship in a small thatched bamboo hut.
For decades, the couple lived in a ramshackle hut whose banana leaf roof had to be replaced every two years due to the monsoon rains.
Their long-held dream of a safe, stable home came true in June when the construction of their new house was completed.
“We no longer have to endure the harsh monsoon rains or biting winter winds. Now, we are safe and warm,” said Tshedar.
Tshedar, who is partially hearing impaired, is the sole breadwinner, relying on manual labour in neighbours’ fields for a daily wage of Nu 400.
The couple’s old hut. PHOTO: KUENSEL
His wife, Chamchi, suffers from speech impairment caused by a cleft lip and cannot work due to health issues. The couple has three children, including a speech-impaired son who is a monk.
They own over two acres of land, where they grow vegetables, maize, and other cereals for their own consumption.
The construction of the single-storey house was initiated by the teachers of Kaktong Primary School, who raised over Nu 300,000 through TikTok platform.
Kezang Tshering, a teacher who spearheaded the project, said a committee was formed for transparency, and the construction was contracted to four men from the local community.
“Every morning, as I walked to school, I often saw them drying clothes soaked by the heavy rain,” he said, adding that the TikTok platform was a blessing, as he showed their house on TikTok live to his friends abroad, who then supported the project.
The project faced budgetary challenges, and some planned components, such as the roofing for one of the rooms and the electrification, were left unfinished.
“As some TikTok users who had assured their support to cover the cost of CGI sheets and electricity materials were unable to do so as promised, we had to divert the electricity budget to procure the CGI sheets,” said another teacher.
The new house, located below the old bamboo hut, has four rooms, including a living room and a kitchen. The pit toilet at the old hut was supported by the government through its rural sanitation and hygiene programme.
The couple cooks on a rammed mud stove in a separate bamboo kitchen attached to the house, as the money collected could not cover the cost of electrification.
The couple is grateful for the new house. “We thank the supporters for helping us build our home,” said Tshedhar.