Such a tragedy for the Adhikari family, specially a child so young. My prayers are with him for his speedy recovery.
San
Message from Meenakshi Gyawali, Manchester, NH below
______________________________________________
Hello webmaster,
Is it possible to get this posted on Sajha to see if anyone
will help this family. Thank you.
______________________________________________Dear Family and Friends
As some of you may have already heard regarding the tragedy
that struck the Adhikari family in Manchester,
NH. I have attached an article from
the local paper below for reference. This accident took place about a month
ago. The boy is still in the hospital and his father has not left his side in
30 days (the father has not come home since the accident)
The family is struggling to commute to Boston where is boy
is located which is about 40 miles north form here and also to make ends meet
at home, The older siblings have just recently found employment at
McDonald’s and at a local hotel, and are trying to make ends meet.
They arrived in the country 4 months as refugees. The social
worker and others have been taking the family to Boston and back when they get a chance. Right
now the family does not have a car and are totally dependent on strangers both
for work and going to the hospital. (New Hampshire
and Manchester does
not have a very good public transportation infrastructure, the local bus stops
running at 6pm). Right now the immediate need for this family to is to start
making them self sufficient by helping them get a car. We are reaching out to
the Nepali community both in New
Hampshire and Country to see what resources we can
tap into.
There has been an account opened at Citizens Bank where funds can be donated
under the “Adhikari Maousham
Trust” They are located at 875 Elm Street, Manchester, NH
03101. If anyone is interested in making a donation, checks can be mailed
there.
If you are willing to help please contact me and I will send
you additional information and keep you updated.
Below is the article from the local paper. A few updates
from that article, grandpa is home, he has many broken bones and Mousham has
come out of coma and is healing slowly.
Thank you.
Meenakshi Gyawali
Manchester, NH
FROM THE UNION LEADER, MANCHESTER,
NH
MANCHESTER – The 6-year-old struck by a car Saturday evening while crossing a
dimly lit street with his grandfather has moved his hand, the only sign of
improvement so far since arriving at the hospital, his family said yesterday.
Maousham Adhikari remains
in a coma at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston,
his family said.
Maousham Adhikari, 6,
left, remains in a coma after being struck by a car with his grandfather,
Kubirlal Adhikari.
"The doctors say he
will be better, but it will take a long time," said his sister, Jhali
Adhikari, who is 22.
The heartbreaking
accident has jolted a family that is just learning about life in the United States.
The Adhikaris are
refugees from the South Asian country of Bhutan,
a country about twice the size of New Hampshire
that is wedged between India
and China.
They moved to the United
States this past summer.
The grandfather, Kubirlal
Adhikari, 64, was in Catholic
Medical Center
yesterday with a broken ankle, broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, family
members said. He is conscious and has talked about the accident, said a
relative, Chandra Subodi.
"He said he looked
on both sides, didn't see anything and crossed," Subodi said.
The two were struck about
5:20 p.m. Saturday while crossing at the intersection of Conant and West
streets, not even a block from the Notre
Dame Avenue apartment building where the boy
lives. He had spent the day at his aunt's apartment, telling stories and
playing hide-and-seek with his 3-year-old cousin, relatives said. His
grandfather was taking Maousham home when the accident occurred.
Police have impounded the
car and were inspecting it for mechanical defects yesterday, said Lt. Jon
Hopkins, head of the Manchester
police traffic division.
Hopkins said
police have interviewed Kubirlal Adhikari and the driver of the Volkswagen
sedan that struck the two, Joshua Bouchard, 19, of 153 Whipple St. Bouchard has been
cooperative, Hopkins
said.
Hopkins said there is no indication that speed or impairment came into
play. Nor is there any indication that Hopkins
was driving with his lights off, he said.
Conant Street, which runs beside West
High School, is straight
and narrow, with few if any visual obstructions. But Hopkins said it is not well-lit. Police
should make a determination on the accident by Thursday, he said.
Maousham started kindergarten
at Gossler Park School
this year. His classmates drew get-well cards for him yesterday, said school
Principal Jim Adams. The school has been in touch with the family since the
accident.
On Sunday, a school
district social worker, Kim Calhoun, drove some family members to the Boston hospital, Adams
said.
Yesterday, the family
welcomed a visitor into their slightly furnished apartment and answered
questions. All were bundled against the cold snap. Older women wore traditional
dress and spoke their native language. Younger adults wore puffy ski jackets
and spoke in English.
The Adhikaris had lived
in a refugee camp in Nepal
since 1991.
Maousham's mother nodded
in appreciation of condolences, but turned her head sideways and gazed off,
worry etched on her face. She has not been able to go to the hospital because
of her own health problems, Subodi said.
"She's worried, and
she's praying to God he will be better soon," her daughter said.
The boy's father -- a
teacher in his native Bhutan
-- rode in the medical helicopter to the hospital with Maousham and has
remained there since. Family members said they wanted to visit him at the
hospital yesterday, but did not have a way to get to Boston.