Karnali, January 7
Youths from a nomadic community have attended a first aid training organised in Surkhet. Eight women and seven men from the Raute community took part in the training. The Ministry of Social Development in Karnali Province informed that the Raute people live a nomadic life in Surkhet, Dailekh, Jajarkot and Salyan districts.
The community in a population of 1,033 has lately witnessed a decline owing to a changed lifestyle, especially in food and culture. They are currently living in a jungle of Lekbensi municipality-7 of Surkhet. The health workers at Nepal Red Cross Society Surkhet chapter provided the attending Raute youths the basic skills of first aid, along with the practical exercise, according to Ram Lal Acharya, Surkhet chapter Chair of Nepal Red Cross.
The training is expected to make them aware of the injury and the need for emergency health support before taking the injured ones to the hospital. Minister for Social Development, Ghanashyam Bhandari, inaugurated the training on Tuesday.
He said it is a common responsibility of all to preserve the Raute community, which bears a special identity in Karnali Province. “The interest shown by Raute youths in health and treatment should be taken positively,” he observed, adding that this aboriginal group has a unique civilisation, language and culture. According to him, the provincial government was for socialisation of the Raute people without hampering their original culture and civilisation.
The establishment of the ‘Raute corridor’ and the launch of the ‘Raute policy’ were in the offing. While linking the Raute people to modern practices, their lifestyle bearing a unique identity will not be infringed, he vowed. At the programme, the mayor of Gurans rural municipality, Top Bahadur BC, informed that the Raute people were provided identity cards and social security allowances.
The local level had taken an initiative to facilitate the process to ensure citizenship certificates for the aboriginal tribe. The proposal in this regard had reached the district administration office. Hira Singh Thapa, executive director at a non-governmental organisation, Social Service Centre, informed that the Raute people were getting attracted to modern treatment, so the training on first aid would be beneficial to them. The traditional household treatment was causing complications in the treatment of their health.
