Hi my name is Bhima Palungwa. I am 23 years old. I am currently studying BA.LLB and I am a 4th year student. I also have a job in a law firm as a Receptionist. I am here to share my journey. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
I am from a small poor family and a lot has changed from where I started to where I am today. I want to give credit to everyone who made me who I am today.
What do you call delicious food? For me salty vegetables and rice are delicious foods. I never asked for anything, even when I don't understand
things.
A disconnected family
I learned to deal with my circumstances in life. When I was a child, my father was not with me; even if he was with us, either he used to get angry or was not in touch. My dad mostly worked as migrant labor in the Middle East and comes back to Nepal to see my family once in a while. So, that is why the relationship with Father is on and off. It is because of the consequences of poverty and long-distance relationships within family members. I grew up in my mother's parents’ house. There were only 4 of us: me, my mother and my grandparents.
My mother said that she enrolled me in a government school by selling chicken at 50 rupees. She works as a laborer at the house building site. She could not afford the school boarding fees with that income. The money from her wages was enough to pay for my food, clothes and pay for my tuition fee. My family never stopped me from studying, they always encouraged me to study.
Our house is made of mud and we had to put buckets in the house in the rainy season. No matter the difficult situation I was living in, I never felt we were poor. Maybe I'm just happy with what I have. In Class 2, this question was asked during the English exam: “what is your father's name?” I did not have the answer. Perhaps there are few people who don't know their father's name. I didn't think so at that time. I wrote my friend's father's name.
When I was in class 3 and about 9 years old, my father, after a long time, came from a Middle Eastern country — where he was working as migrant labor — and I was glad that we all moved into one house — father, mother, siblings, and grandparents — before we were living in a maternal house with maternal parents.
However, after a brief period of time together, my father had to go abroad again to cover my school fees and, more importantly, to earn money as we planned to purchase property for a house. And, after a year of my father’s earnings, we were able to buy a piece of land where we had previously resided (eastern Nepal). But again, we were short on funds to build a house because my father brought a limited amount, which we used to purchase land. We are thus forced to remain in the same home with a leaky roof.
Regardless of a difficult family situation, on the one hand, my family (mother especially) kept hope and gave the utmost love, and on the other hand, the more love I had, the more responsibility I had.
Big dreams to fulfill and a journey full of hopes
To fulfill my parents' wishes, I wanted to build a house. So I always thought of becoming a lawyer, engineer, and doctor only. Because in that profession there is both power and money. I didn't think about how I could. I just told myself I have to do it, there is no other option. By the time I passed 10, I had thought that I would study law because I liked to speak for others. I studied law in Class 12.
I had to go to Kathmandu to do my bachelor's degree. I was happy and wanted to tell my father. But happiness did not last long. My mother and grandmother gave their land to their grandchildren in relation and it was the land that my father and I were expecting to build a house one day. When my father found out about this, he stopped talking again. It was not my fault or theirs. They wanted to help others and thought they would return it. It was okay for my father to be angry as they gave the land without discussing it with my father first. This greatly affected my studies. But I didn't stop. I thought that “Whatever happens, I will see.”
My mother gave me money from a piggy bank, which is 5K NPR (about 30€) and my grandparents gave their old allowance, a total of 25K NPR (nearly 170€) and I left my home for the first time. I took the entrance exam and I was selected but I am worried how I can pay such a big amount. That time I had to pay 87K NPR (585€) and I didn't have that much money.
I remember those relatives who say “You go, we will help you with big hopes,” but they only give excuses. So again, I called my parents and I shared it with my grandmother. She is the only woman in my life who understands what I want. She always encourages me to think big and dream big. So, she forced my grandfather to give me money because he had money. He sold slum area land and sent me 1 lakh (about 670€). I got admission in law college. Because of my grandmother I got the chance to study.
Sometimes later I have to get citizenship so I went to Taplejung (Eastern Nepal) to my father's home (an ancestor place). It had been a long time since he returned from abroad but he did not want to talk to me, and it really hurt my feelings. To make my father talk to me again, I told him we got the land back. But it was a lie that brought more complications in my life. Some time later my father returned. I panicked. What should I do now? Because of my lie, I could not be happy about his return. I felt guilty. I asked the person on our land to return it to us, but she just ignored me and made excuses.
I decided to tell my father the truth, and he understood. We filed a case against the people occupying our land, and we got back the land. Without his support I don't know how I could have handled things. My father started stressing about my study because there is no income source and my study is not complete. He had more than 5 lakhs (3,400€) when he came from abroad. I convinced him to come home and build a house. My grandmother's situation was worse because of critical health issues, and she still was hoping to have a good house to stay in.
Now ready to build a house, he invested all the money. It was important to me to see my grandmother happy because she is the world to me. It gave me the motivation to just fight with a lot of situations and to keep pursuing my journey of hope.
A job search turned upside down thanks to LP4Y
After that, I started seeking a job but I started to doubt myself. I had fear of judgment and no confidence. But 1 day completely changed my life. My sister shared a post on social media about LP4Y training. I was just curious to know what that is and called. The lady who received the call had a polite and sweet voice. I asked her how I could join the training center. She said: “You have to come tomorrow.” So I decided to go there because there is a living allowance also and training where I can gain experience and money also which helps me for my daily life also.
I decided to move to a slum area also because before I lived in a hostel and there I had to pay 10k monthly. With financial problems, day by day it's hard for me to pay. My father was against it but I convinced him. At the beginning, I was afraid of living there because many people who live there use drugs and alcohol. But I started to live there. LP4Y allowance helps me to live there.
In LP4Y, I can openly express my opinion without judgment. I just feel confident. There, I see many types of people who are learning from base and some are experts. Everyone is treated equally. The best part I feel is collective guidance. That time I learned a lot of things. Which helps me for self-awareness. I am always grateful for LP4Y who helped me to achieve my goal.
I completed 6 months in LP4Y. During that period, all Coaches and Catalysts helped me. After that, I searched for a job in a law firm. Before LP4Y, I tried, but they rejected my application. And they offered me only NRS. 5,000 monthly (about 35€). But later, thanks to LP4Y, I knew my worth, and I upgraded my skills, so the same law firm offered me a job in a receptionist position with a decent salary, i.e., 110€ per month for 5 hours of work per day. So, I am successful in achieving my short-term goal (in a law firm as a receptionist).
The training helped me a lot. I now know how to talk with people with confidence. Before LP4Y, I didn't know how to print things but now I know how to do it. So I confidently print the papers and make files. The small, small things I learned in LP4Y help me to have a clear vision. I am happy I got a job related to my field. LP4Y training made it easy to work there. My journey is still ongoing but I am clear about my objectives.
In my difficult time, LP4Y supported me a lot, I am always grateful. I got the job and now I am independent. I pay my room rent, my food bill, all things. So today I am here because of LP4Y. It's the best platform to grow yourself.
Comments