Empowering Lives: How One School Health Activist Changed an Epileptic Child's Future

A Moment of Joy from the CHHIP Team 😊

Written by Kriti Rai, CHHIP Project Manager In 2020, while traveling to Murmidang Primary School, our SHA, Mariyam Subba, encountered a 12-year-old boy with a burnt hand. Upon interacting with his parents, she learned that the child had fainted near the cooking fire, resulting in the burn. The child had dropped out of school at the age of 5 due to epilepsy.

The family's limited financial resources prevented them from seeking proper treatment. Our team intervened by taking the child to North Bengal Medical Hospital. Medical tests confirmed the child's epilepsy, a condition the parents were aware of but had not disclosed due to the associated stigma.

Considering the family's financial constraints and the child's treatment expenses, our team initiated the process of obtaining a disability certificate to better support the child and the family. The successful acquisition of this certificate has entitled the child to receive all necessary facilities and a monthly stipend of 1000 rupees for his treatment.

Our team continued to monitor the child's condition through regular home visits. During one of these visits, the child expressed a strong desire to return to school. Recognizing this, we arranged a meeting with the headmaster of Murmidang Primary School, which is a CHHIP partner school. With the consent of both parents and the school headmaster, the child was enrolled in school this year for the first time since he was five years old! 

Since returning to school, the child's health has improved significantly, and he has made many friends. He is not only learning academic subjects but also essential life skills, such as identifying money through the extra tutoring from our SHA. The child has demonstrated increased independence, confidently walking alone and even purchasing groceries from the market.