“I am the person who keeps everyone safe at the cement factory nearby. I make sure that all switches are functional for the plant to run smoothly. I do not want losses for the factory. You see, it employs hundreds of people. So I work whole-heartedly. The factory had to shut due to the lockdown but now it has resumed and I am happy to be able to go back to work. To become who I am, a person in the community with university education was not an easy thing. Father sacrificed his peace and Mother prayed every night just so that I become someone who has a job. And you know how he saved all the money to send me to college? By working in the mud, in the paddy, molding clay, and making oil lamps, vases, and pots. Even though things I do at the factory bring in more money, I have more respect for this occupation. It is ancestral and it is what my family does. And when I have time off from attending to the circuits, switches, and wires of the factory, I help out here. Chhath is near and the market has become crowded so everyone in my family is in a rush to make sure that we make enough to meet the demands. So I am here to lend an extra hand. Sitting in the sun here and getting my hands covered in clay, having homemade food in the company of family is like being in heaven.”

#TheFutureIWant SON X United Nations Nepal