Government of Nepal has provisioned to establish Help Desk at each District Women and Child Office throughout 75 districts of Nepal. However, minimal fund availability has resulted only help desk but no staff is in place in most of the DWCOs. Similar was the scenario of Help desk in DWCO-Kailali in till 2015.
Yearly, hundreds of PwDs come to receive PwD ID cards from DWCO Kailali, but they have to go through all the government procedure on their own and it very challenging for them most of the times. Limited staff in office could not help the PwDs as demanded and the ID card receiving process was tiresome.
Holistic Disability Development Society Nepal, a DPO and Implementing partner of LWF Nepal has been supporting DWCO-Kailali to make the Help Desk functional and benefit the PwDs and their family members visiting office to seek information on PwD ID Cards
HDDSN has rejuvenated the Help desk space and equipped with furniture and IEC materials related to acquiring PwD ID card and other services from DWCO-Kailali. A volunteer from DPO facilitates right-holders every 1st and 16th of the month, the days set to distribute the ID card. The DPO has planned to utilize second installment of support for printer and photocopier, to ease PwDs print documents required during application submission.
So far, the desk has supported more than 200 right holders to fill up the application, collect complaints and feedback, disseminate information on PwD rights and entitlements, and facilitate to receive entitlement services from office and other day-to-day jobs.
Dhangadhi is the center of Farwest Nepal, influx of PwDs is higher here compared to other districts of far west, says Mr. Dhirendra Shahi, Chair of HDDSN and a regular volunteer at Help Desk. We envision making it an exemplary help desk so that government can replicate it in other districts as well. He further adds.
LWF Nepal has been closely coordinating with DPOs and WCDO in Kailali for ensuring rights and entitlements of more than 1000 PwDs in 5 VDCs of Kailali.