“I have seen my friend destroy everything in his life. After his parents died his drinking escalated. For almost a decade, on many occasions, I have carried him home, washed him up and put him to sleep. He would maybe stop for a week but soon be back on a bender. I witnessed him lose everything – relationships, money, sanity and health. But there came a time when he changed, which honestly I think was never going to happen. I had lost hope but today, he has been sober for almost 6 years and lives a normal life, a good person. Maybe he finally learnt his lesson, the hard way. And it’s only through him I have learnt mine – that there is always hope and people can change.”

– Rajendra Shah, Bhagwatibahal, Kathmandu