PUJA & PRAMOD’s STORY

Across the world, there are over 50 million carers. Some 67% of these are unpaid and look after a member of their own family. Many of those in a caring role are children.

At Jaya Mental Health we work closely with families and whole communities to support carers of people experiencing mental illness and raise awareness of their human rights.

Puja knows well what it means to give up your childhood to look after someone else. For years, whilst her parents worked in the fields, Puja was the main carer of her younger brother Pramod, who is neurodiverse and experiences long spells of depression.

“Up until the age of 3, Pramod was like us”, says Puja, now 22, as she holds her brother’s hand in hospital.  “Then he stopped talking. As time passed, he started running away from home and becoming violent towards strangers. As I am the oldest daughter in the family, I was expected to look after my brother. Because of his behaviour, people used to call him “pagal”, which means “crazy person”. That hurt him, and it really hurt me too. It still does”.

Recently, Puja married and moved to Kathmandu. She lives miles away from her ancestral village in a rural province of Nepal. Since she left home, her father migrated abroad looking for ways to support the family, so her mother is now Pramod’s main carer. However, both siblings are once again reunited – Pramod has been admitted to a hospital in the capital, after experiencing a deep depression, and their mother no longer being able to cope with her son’s needs.

“Pramod cannot be home on his own. He is very unwell and behaving inappropriately, especially around girls, so we tie him up or lock him in a room.  I am now married and have many other responsibilities, but I worry for him and my mother. When I first saw him in hospital, I cried a lot.”

“Pramod listens to and understands me, and we love each other very much.”

“If I had a magic wand, I would make sure my little brother would get all the medical care he needs, and that he would be a happy boy with a future to look forward to.”

Sometimes, carers of people affected by mental illness are unaware of the harm they might cause to their loved ones. Some of their decisions – to shackle or tie someone to a bed, lock them in a room or stop them engaging with others – are imposed by the challenging circumstances in which some families live.

At Jaya Mental Health, we are determined to support carers like Puja to find the best ways to care for their loved ones, without compromising their well-being and human rights.

Our awareness campaigns work closely with local communities and introduce practical options to reduce risks and treat loved ones in safe humane ways at home.

This Christmas, with your help, we can reach out to many more siblings like Puja and Pramod and offer them support. Together we can bring hope for human rights.