My name is Krishna Bahadur Kharti and I live in Chadegard municipality 6, Jajarkot. I am 18 years old and belong to a big family of 10 members including my father, mother, big brother, sister-in-law, their two daughters, one son, my sister, and my uncle. Unfortunately, three of us are disabled – my big brother has a speech problem, my uncle and I are fully blind. Despite the challenges, we manage to live together in a small house on a piece of land provided by the Nepal Government.

In 2070, I attended Tribhuwan Model Secondary School for the first time after my uncle emphasized the importance of education and informed me that even blind people can study in school. At the age of 9, I visited a school for the blind in Kohalpur. However, due to my typical local language and disability, the school warden, teachers, and some friends dominated me.

In 2078, I passed the SEE exam with a score of 3.20. For eight years, from 2070 to 2078, I worked hard and studied diligently despite facing challenges such as age, blindness, and language barriers. My friends often belittled me, causing me to cry in my room. After completing SEE, my school expelled me due to a lack of space for 11th and 12th grade. I then moved to Kathmandu and later to Nepaljung. Fortunately, my friend Chetan Sunar informed me about Shikhar Secondary School, which had space for blind students like me. I enrolled in the school, located in Bheriganga Municipality, and continued my studies.

In 2022 A.D, the Director and Senior Program Officer of Forward Looking visited Surkhet for lunch to discuss their scholarship program’s mission, vision, and aim. As someone who is happy with their work with disabled individuals, I was disappointed to learn that the scholarship was only available for Bachelor and Master’s level students, as I am currently in class 12. However, I visited the Forward Looking branch office in Birendranagar Surkhet and met with the Surkhet field program office. At the time, I was facing financial difficulties and did not have a braille copy to study with. After speaking with my family, who were unable to provide financial assistance, I shared my situation with Raju sir and requested a braille copy.

I submitted all my documents for a scholarship and Forward Looking believed in me, granting me the scholarship. I am grateful and blessed to have received this opportunity and am thankful to Forward Looking for their support.