Global Foundation Nepal working for humanitarian partnership to restores Dignity for Disabled Bhutanese Refugees.
Global Foundation Nepal received a recognition letter from (BRAD) for the donated customized four wheelchairs, appreciation for the compassionate contribution.
Customized wheelchairs
In marginalized and displaced communities worldwide, access to basic-necessities like food, shelter, and medical care are the primary focus of relief efforts. Yet, one critical element essential for basic human dignity, independence, and social integration is frequently overlooked, personal mobility. For individuals living with physical disabilities in refugee settlements, the lack of mobility aids like wheelchairs can turn their daily life into an uphill battle of isolation and dependence especially where the future is uncertain and the only way of daily survival is fully dependent on support from others.
A Certificate of Appreciation awarded by the Bhutanese Refugee Association of the Disabled (BRAD) to Global Foundation Nepal signed by the BRAD President Ms.Tanuja Tamang highlights a vital milestone in addressing this challenge. The recognition honors a generous donation of four wheelchairs to disabled individuals residing within the refugee community. Though four wheelchairs may seem like a modest gesture on paper, the real-world impact of such support extends far beyond numbers, transforming entire families and communities.
Birkha-Bahadur-Rai,-Beldangi
Paurna-Bahadur-Subbba,-Beldangi
The Reality of Life for Disabled Refugees
Life in Bhutanese refugee settlements at present is very challenging and extremely difficult especially for disabled refugees as well as for able refugees. Displaced individuals often lack access to specialized healthcare, specialized infrastructure, or steady livelihood opportunities and uncertain future some-times even prosecutions. For persons with physical disabilities, these hardships are compounded, making simple daily activities navigating unpaved dirt roads, attending community gatherings, pursuing education, or earning a basic living become monumental obstacles.
Without mobility devices like wheelchairs, many individuals become homebound, reliant entirely on family members or caregivers for movement. This loss of autonomy places emotional and financial strains on households and reduces the disabled individual’s presence in public life.
In this context, community-based organizations like BRAD play an essential advocacy role. Established in 2013, and operating in Bhutanese Refugee Settlement in Damak-3, Beldangi, Jhapa, Nepal. The Bhutanese Refugee Association of the Disabled acts as a unified voice for persons with disabilities within the refugee community. BRAD works to advocate for equal rights, providing livelihood opportunities, fostering inclusion in home-based production of daily items used in refugee camps, and mobilize assistance to improve the lives of the communities
Ms. Kezang Tamang CEO GFN and President, Ms Tanuja Tamang (Left – Right)
Addressing the Ongoing Crisis in Refugee Settlements
The cooperation between BRAD and Global Foundation Nepal serves as a practical model for local humanitarian action. However, it also highlights the ongoing, unmet needs within the Bhutanese refugees Settlements in Nepal. Many refugees continue to await specialised medical care, adaptive equipment, accessible infrastructure, and hope for a better future, reunion with family members in their country of origin, reunion with resettled family members, as well as hoping for the refugee programs to resume in the refugee settlements in Nepal.