A Life of Resilience: The Story of Thagisara Thapa
At The Gurkha Welfare Trust, our mission goes far beyond providing financial aid. With your support, we are working hard to ensure that our brave Gurkha veterans and their widows can live their lives with the dignity, comfort, and security they so richly deserve.
One of the remarkable individuals we have the privilege of supporting is 78 year-old Gurkha widow, Thagisara Thapa.
Thagisara’s late husband, Padam Bahadur Thapa, served with pride in the 6th Gurkha Rifles between 1954 and 1965. Following a medical discharge, Padam returned home to Nepal.
Over three decades ago, in 1992, the Trust began supporting the couple with a monthly Welfare Pension. Padam sadly passed away in 2008, but our commitment to his family remains unchanged. Our priority now is to support Thagisara, ensuring she has the comfort, care, and dignity she deserves.
Today, that support continues to evolve to meet Thagisara’ s changing needs as she grows older.
Adapting to Changing Needs
Five years ago, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Thagisara moved into a GWT-built Earthquake-Resilient Home. Her old home had cracks along the walls, which weakened the structure of the house as the gaps slowly widened.
“The house got cracks after the earthquake,” said Thagisara. “They were small before and I had thought they were holes made by mice, but they started getting bigger.
Today, Thagisara is thrilled with her home, which she chose to paint in bright and cheery colours. “Oh, I don’t know what I’d have done [without the GWT],” she said. “Probably borrow from others and survive on what I had. It would be very hard!”
During a recent routine home visit, alongside our usual medical, wellbeing and welfare checks, our field team carried out a comprehensive home risk assessment to see how we could make her daily life more comfortable.
Soon, we will be installing a false ceiling to insulate her house, keeping it cool during the scorching summer months, warm in the winter, and reducing the noise of heavy monsoon downpours.
The team also identified that Thagisara currently relies on a temporary outside pipe to bring water into her toilet. Plans are already underway to install a direct, internal water connection, removing a daily burden and ensuring her long-term independence.
Vision Renewed
At 78, Thagisara is in remarkably good health and requires no regular medication. Her quality of life recently received a wonderful boost after she underwent cataract surgery, fully funded by the Trust.
For Thagisara, being able to see clearly again has been life-changing.
“After the first cataract surgery, my vision was quite clear,” she smiled, noting how much her eyesight has steadily improved since the procedures.
With her sight restored, Thagisara has eagerly returned to doing what she loves most: staying active. She firmly believes that movement is the key to her longevity.
“If I do not do anything and just sit, then I will become lazy, and my body will become weak,” she explains.
Thagisara continues to do light work in the fields, where she has planted onions, garlic, and potatoes. She also raises chickens for eggs and maintains a varied diet.
A Journey from Hardship
Looking around her home today, Thagisara often reflects on how much Nepal, and her own life, has changed.
“Before, it was very difficult to eat, to work. We had to work until 12 at night taking out the husk from the rice and grinding it manually. We had to go down to the rivers to collect water, there was no electricity, and we had to use a piece of burning wood for light,” she recalls.
“But now, it’s a heaven for everyone, especially me. I am really happy and satisfied.”