Rumi Rajbhandari: Driven by a cause

In 2009, when Rumi Rajbhandari joined Burn Violence Survivors–Nepal (BVS-Nepal), an organization working for the rehabilitation of burn survivors, she thought of it as her first step in the world of social work. She thought she would eventually move on to other ‘more lucrative’ jobs. But fast forward 15 years later, she now runs her own organization, Astitwa, that helps burn survivors find their footing back in society.

“I never planned this. But working at BVS-Nepal made me realize how neglected the issue of gender-based violence was in our country and I wanted to do something to change that,” says Rajbhandari. When she met burn victims and heard their stories, during the course of their treatments, an intense rage, fueled by the injustice of it all, would take over. Most women were set on fire by their husbands and in-laws. Others by scorned lovers. “There weren’t strict laws for the crime and most of the time the incidents were swept under the carpet as ‘domestic’ issues,” she says, adding even the police would try to get the victims to compromise and go back home.

The women were more often than not financially dependent on the men, and this compelled them to live with their abusers. The more Rajbhandari saw, the more she realized how dire the situation was. As the program coordinator for BVS-Nepal, she had to work closely with the victims and their families and that also made her bond with them. “Eventually, it became unthinkable that I could or would ever do anything else,” she says.

Now, through Astitwa which was established in 2018, she is determined to provide burn survivors first the medical aid they need and then empower them through vocational and skills training. Astitwa runs a project called Sakchyam which provides jewelry-making training to survivors. The stunning pieces of jewelry made by the didis have found markets in the UK, US, Germany, Australia, and India.

However, Sakchyam, Rajbhandari says, will now focus on the local markets as well. “We see a lot of scope for it as our pieces are well-made with good quality materials. And they are beautiful. Oftentimes, the team doesn’t want to sell the pieces. We would rather keep them for ourselves,” she says, with a laugh that lights up her eyes.

Archana Ranjit, sister in-charge, burn ward, at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharjgunj, Kathmandu, says Rajbhandari is a dedicated social worker. Ranjit has known Rajbhandari since her BVS-Nepal days and says she is compassionate and driven by the need to make a difference. She says Rajbhandari is able to connect with the survivors and they open up to her.

Rajbhandari’s colleagues at Astitwa agree that she has a presence that puts people at ease. The office environment isn’t formal and overwhelming because Rajbhandari isn’t strict despite being a go-getter. She knows what she wants but she doesn’t impose her ideas on others. This gives people the mental freedom and the clarity that comes with it to come up with their own ideas and solutions to problems. The team can regularly be seen discussing work over chatpate and chiya.

This has made it possible for Astitwa to achieve quite a lot of its goals in the six years it has been in operation. All their Kathmandu-based survivors have jobs, which is a big feat. When Rajbhandari first started working, no one would give jobs to burn survivors. One look at their scars and they would be rejected. But now, people are coming around and taking it upon themselves to help burn survivors by giving them the opportunities they desperately need.

“Many survivors are working as housemaids and are able to fend for themselves. This gives them an immense morale boost, and they can live free of their abusers,” says Rajbhandari.

Additionally, Astitwa has been able to fund the education of 24 students. These are all survivors or children of survivors. Rajbhandari considers this a major achievement as education will empower them and they will be able to break from the vicious cycle of poverty and the abuse that seems to be linked to it. “We have some kind sponsors who have made it possible for many of these students to stay in school,” she says, adding interested people can contact Astitwa and sponsor a child’s education. They would be making a huge impact, she says.

Rajbhandari is happy with all that Astitwa has been able to accomplish but the work sure does have its pitfalls. She recalls not being able to eat or sleep after seeing women suffering from severe third-degree burns. One would assume it would get easier with time and experience but that’s not true for her. It’s a traumatic line of work. Rajbhandari still shudders while talking about some cases. Her eyes welled up. Despite most of these women having recovered, what they had to go through continues to haunt her.

“Many perpetrators are still walking free. The survivors live in fear of their abusers. They also can’t move on because they never got justice so there is no sense of closure,” she says. There need to be stricter laws to lessen, if not put an end to, gender-based violence. Rajbhandari laments the government hasn’t given as much attention as it should to the matter. The media too doesn’t write about burn violence unless there is a new incident to report.

“Through Astitwa, I hope to bring change in our society’s attitude towards burn violence survivors and empower victims of violence. And I’m determined to do everything I can for it,” says Rajbhandari.