Children’s Day has been celebrated for the first time at Raute community living at the Karnali Province of Nepal. The Day was organized by Social Service Center (SOSEC) Nepal, Dailekh at Raute community of Gurans Rural Municipality -8, Pakhapani, Dailekh district in collaboration with Gurans Rural Municipality and the coordination with District Child Welfare Board.
Laxmi Prasad Baskota, Chief District Officer (CDO) as well as chairperson of District Child Welfare Board distributed clothes, medicine and food to Raute community after the cultural dance and song program performed by the Raute. Those distributed materials include clothes to individuals, medicine,and nutritionfood for children and p-foam (mattress) for each household.
On the same ceremonial day, social security allowances of the month, Bhadra has been also distributed to Raute individuals by chairperson of Gurash Rural Municipality Mr. Khem Raj Oli. Rural Municipality is providing Social Security Allowances to Raute Individuals since Month Srawan by monthly basis. On the day, 153 individuals of Raute community received the allowance allocated by government of Nepal. In the past, this types of allowance was used to distribute quarterly.
After the distribution of clothes, food and medicine to Raute community, Mr. Laxmi Prasad Baskota CDO told that supporting of these types of health, material and awareness raising activities of Raute individuals they are need to be transformed from cultural bad practices and make them healthy for normal life. He cleared about the importance of National Identity card and insist the community to have the National Identity card.
Khem Raj Oli chairperson of program as well as chairperson of Gurash Rural Municipality told that identity card has been distributed in community nearly 2 months ago and since then working for the welfare of the community. Even some positive changes have seen in the community and still many other activities most be needed for their welfare, for which collaboration with Raute project from SOSEC will be made for further effectiveness from the Rural Municipality level.
Mr. Hira Singh Thapa chairperson of Social Service Center (SOSEC), Nepal Dailekh told that Raute project has been implementing in support with AEIN and in collaboration with Rural Municipality having main objective, to socialize the community improving health, sanitation and education without destroying their ritual and cultural aspect. He added that, due to the situation of children seen in the community clothes, mat, medicine and micro nutrition for children has been distributed in the occasion of Children’s day. He committed that project will be carrying out the activities for the welfare of Raute community and wished that they would have changed their bad culture and practices in upcoming days which will lead them to live normal life.
Raute communities are indigenous group living in south Asia. They are fully dependent on forests and its products. Raute community is a tribal community. Raute are a nomadic indigenous ethnic group officially recognized by the Government of Nepal. They are known for subsistence hunting of languor and macaque monkeys. They gather wild forest tubers, fruits, and greens on a regular basis. To obtain grain, iron, cloth, and jewelry, they carve wooden bowls and boxes to trade for food from local farmers. They do not sell other forest products, bush meat, or forest medicinal plants. Their population is estimated at about 650, living in small settlements (Wikipedia, 12th March, 2018). However, they are decreasing day by day and remaining only 149 on the time of identity card distribution.
