By Scott, 29 July 2009
With his right hand amputated below his elbow
following an accident as a child, Rakesh Gole, a
Nepalese, struggled hard growing up with his disability.
Born to a farmer's family of the Tamang tribe in the
Nepalese village of Makhwanpur under the Phaparbari
district, Rakesh, now 40, grew up working with his father
in the field.
As a young man, Rakesh became a respectable farmer in
the Tamang community. His disability turned into a force
that pushed him into a visionary man. He decided to take
up an arduous journey alone on a specially designed
motorbike touring the eight Saarc countries in a bid to
forge a 'unity among physically challenged persons'.
Using his left hand, Rakesh rode to Bangladesh on his
motorcycle, Hero Honda, which is donated by its
manufacturer, five days ago. He entered Bangladesh via
India through the Banglabandha border. With Nepalese
flags on his bike and a slogan inscribed along number
plates, he was seen riding towards Dhaka past Bogra.
"My dream is to help physically challenged men, women
and children of this region unite against superstition
and social prejudices," said Rakesh in broken Hindi,
sitting on his bike by the highway.
Father of two children, a boy aged 12 and a girl aged
16, Rakesh showed dozens of certificates from different
organisations wishing him good luck for his endeavour.
"I really like the way Bangladeshis welcomed me all
along the road. It is a great inspiration for all of us,"
he said, adding that he would be heading for Sri Lanka
from here within a month.
Rakesh's physical disability has made him extra
careful while riding his bike with his left hand. He
rides slowly on his way and takes frequent breaks to talk
to people and disseminate the message he has brought with
him from the people of Nepal.
"We need unity to overcome any problems on our way to
the end of the journey of our life," he said.
Source: www.thedailystar.net
