BIHAR: One would be an eternal optimist after knowing the Patel couple. Theirs is a simple objective: Tomorrow is going to be a better day. The differently-abled couple in Bihar’s Bhojpur district is all but a manifestation of hope. Naresh Kumar Patel (32) and his wife Aarti Patel (29) struggle to earn a living, yet a part of whatever they get goes to help others like them.
Naresh lost both his arms when he came in contact with high-voltage live electric wire, dangling from a transformer in his native Charnarh Badka village in Bhojpur district in 2007. His father had to spend a lot on his treatment after Naresh suffered severe burns in the accident.“Villagers taunted me and held me responsible for the huge money spent on my treatment. I felt being whipped for no fault of mine,” says Naresh.
Disgusted with the remarks, Naresh moved to Nokha in Bhojpur district in 2008 and studied up to the graduation level. To earn a living, he started a wholesale business in grocery items. His heart lay in helping others like him.In 2011, Naresh married Aarti whose both legs are paralysed from birth. As Aarti started giving training to girls and women in sewing clothes, Naresh gave men jobs by engaging them under the Nokha block in the state government’s ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal Yojana’ (tap water to all households).
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple ventured into making masks in large numbers, providing employment to many locals. Naresh said he and his wife get `1,000 under the monthly pension scheme for the disabled, grossly inadequate for running a family.“Except this monthly pension, my wife and I don’t get any government support and have to eke out our living on our own,” says Naresh.
He has started a firm, Aarti Enterprises, which supplies labourers for the execution of various government schemes, including MGNREGA. Munni, Radha, Sita and Bholi are among the beneficiaries.
Aarti says she motivates differently-abled people to learn sewing from her so that they could become self-reliant. She said she had purchased a computer and sewing machine a few years ago for the skill development centre under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.“We invested a lot of money, but the centre could not be opened following the cancellation of their ambitious project,” added Naresh.
Surmounting all these odds, Naresh and Aarti are trying to change the lives of differently-abled people. They know they cannot do it without making themselves capable of it. Aarti, a graduate like her husband, has trained 2,000 women in sewing clothes through a centre in Nokha block alone. “We are differently-abled but we do not want others to suffer like us,” she said.
“I want the government to make proper arrangements for the education of differently-abled people as without education, they cannot climb the ladder of success in their lives,” says Aarti. The couple says the government should accelerate its efforts to provide protection to differently-abled people as they continue to face discrimination.
Naresh recently travelled to Mumbai to appear in a competitive exam for a government job. “How can I help others if I do not make myself capable,” he asked. With the support of the differently-abled couple, the Skill Council of India has opened a sewing training centre in the neighbouring Sanjhauli block in the district. At least 100 girls are undergoing training provided by the centre free of cost.