Philanthropy for Equitable Justice and Peace

Anita from Bhaktapur had neurological disorder and was also suffering from psychological problem. Twelve years ago when she had a seizure due to epilepsy, she fell down over a heater and burnt the left side of her face. After that,she remained confined within her home, not getting along with others. Since then, anxiety, stress and fear of meeting people started to grow in her. She had epilepsy from her childhood but was only provided with traditional treatment. After a long time, she was taken to hospital for proper treatment. This improved her neurological problem but psychological problem remained the same. She used to knit caps and sweaters but as her condition weakened, she lost her interest in the activities she once used to enjoy and stopped visiting community center in Bhaktapur.

Aapangata Adhikar ka lagi Mahila Samuha, one of the grantee partners of Tewa approached Anita to enroll her into Peer Support Project and was provided 6-months service on counselling and therapy sessions. When Anita first came for the peer support, she had a glossophobia and could not speak during the first few months. Gradually she started to develop her confidence and started communicating with people. After a series of counseling sessions with psychologist and her peers, Anita developed an easiness to talk with people around and rejoined the community based rehabilitation center (CRB) in Bhaktapur. She participated in trainings and other programs run by this center. She was observed very active in group exercise and interacted boldly with trainers. She was also supporting visually impaired participants to move around in a hall. She performed a role play with others and expressed her opinion. Anita has shown shift on positive changes, transforming herself to confident and independent woman.