Cancer Care for Min dai
Donation protected
Like many families across Nepal whose sons, husbands and brothers have gone “missing ” in Malaysia, Min dai’s wife and mother had long hoped for his return. When Min dai did finally come home after ten long years, little did they expect him to return with a debilitating pain that, within a week of arrival, would be diagnosed as Chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Min dai is currently in B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal, awaiting an endoprosthetic surgery that includes a total hip replacement surgery.
A cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event that overwhelms any individual or family but the stakes are higher for those already contending with prior vulnerabilities. As an undocumented migrant worker in Malaysia, Min dai has had to move from one precarious job to another and has no savings for a crisis such as this. He first entered Malaysia in 2011 to work at a Panasonic manufacturing company. When he along with five other friends realized they had been hired by a labor supply agency and received half the salary they had been promised, they did what many migrants do - leave the company.
While returning home is rarely an option for migrants like Min dai who had borrowed USD 1,000 to work in Malaysia, formal channels of redress are often a last resort. After leaving Panasonic, Min dai worked in many security guard companies with wages that were oftentimes irregular or withheld. In addition to the constant fear of arrest and detention that severely limited his mobility, having to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week made it more difficult for him to visit local clinics when he began experiencing pain in his left thigh.
Access to hospitals was even harder as a migrant with no passport, work permit, health insurance and with healthcare providers being required to report undocumented migrants to the police. When the pain got worse and Min dai wanted to return home, the pandemic hit. It was only in November 2021, after paying RM 3,000 to an agent that he finally made it back. Health insurance is very rare in Nepal and as an undocumented worker, Min dai is also excluded from state benefits that are available to other "returnees" such as financial assistance for illness, psychosocial support, loans, and trainings.
Min dai’s wife works as a cleaner at a hospital in Chitwan and his mother runs a small streetside shop which she was able to set up after years of working odd jobs as a daily wage laborer. Their incomes along with Min dai’s irregular salary have been just enough to meet daily expenses and school fees for Min dai’s two sons. There will be more clarity regarding his treatment plan following his surgery. To meet expenses for cancer care, which will include much more than the cost of surgery, the family is currently borrowing money with interest.
This page has been created by well-wishers of Min dai and his family to help them weather these difficult times. Your contributions will go towards his medical care and loan repayments; any remaining amount will provide a modest safety net for the family since the surgery will impede Min dai's mobility (he is 38 years old) and it will be hard for him to find work in Nepal and almost impossible abroad. Your support will thus offer much relief to Min dai and his family.
Thank you!
If you are based in Nepal and would like to make a contribution, please find bank and eSewa details below of our relatives in Nepal who will ensure the transfer of money to Min dai and his family:
Bank Name: Global IME Bank
Account Name: Hira Gurung
A/C No: 0107010040271
Mobile Number: 9843135401
eSewa - 9841298442 (eSewa name - Kanchan Burathoki. Please write "Min dai" under "remarks")
This is Min dai in 2011, just before going to Malaysia.
Min dai in 2018, working as a security guard in Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.
The Embassy of Nepal in Malaysia issues a one way travel document to undocumented workers without passports. Min dai received his through an agent on 30 November, 2021.
Min dai received his pathology report on 19 December 2021.
His surgery details written by the doctor
Min dai in B.P. Koirala Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, Nepal
His mother in front of her shop in the squatter area they live in.
A cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event that overwhelms any individual or family but the stakes are higher for those already contending with prior vulnerabilities. As an undocumented migrant worker in Malaysia, Min dai has had to move from one precarious job to another and has no savings for a crisis such as this. He first entered Malaysia in 2011 to work at a Panasonic manufacturing company. When he along with five other friends realized they had been hired by a labor supply agency and received half the salary they had been promised, they did what many migrants do - leave the company.
While returning home is rarely an option for migrants like Min dai who had borrowed USD 1,000 to work in Malaysia, formal channels of redress are often a last resort. After leaving Panasonic, Min dai worked in many security guard companies with wages that were oftentimes irregular or withheld. In addition to the constant fear of arrest and detention that severely limited his mobility, having to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week made it more difficult for him to visit local clinics when he began experiencing pain in his left thigh.
Access to hospitals was even harder as a migrant with no passport, work permit, health insurance and with healthcare providers being required to report undocumented migrants to the police. When the pain got worse and Min dai wanted to return home, the pandemic hit. It was only in November 2021, after paying RM 3,000 to an agent that he finally made it back. Health insurance is very rare in Nepal and as an undocumented worker, Min dai is also excluded from state benefits that are available to other "returnees" such as financial assistance for illness, psychosocial support, loans, and trainings.
Min dai’s wife works as a cleaner at a hospital in Chitwan and his mother runs a small streetside shop which she was able to set up after years of working odd jobs as a daily wage laborer. Their incomes along with Min dai’s irregular salary have been just enough to meet daily expenses and school fees for Min dai’s two sons. There will be more clarity regarding his treatment plan following his surgery. To meet expenses for cancer care, which will include much more than the cost of surgery, the family is currently borrowing money with interest.
This page has been created by well-wishers of Min dai and his family to help them weather these difficult times. Your contributions will go towards his medical care and loan repayments; any remaining amount will provide a modest safety net for the family since the surgery will impede Min dai's mobility (he is 38 years old) and it will be hard for him to find work in Nepal and almost impossible abroad. Your support will thus offer much relief to Min dai and his family.
Thank you!
If you are based in Nepal and would like to make a contribution, please find bank and eSewa details below of our relatives in Nepal who will ensure the transfer of money to Min dai and his family:
Bank Name: Global IME Bank
Account Name: Hira Gurung
A/C No: 0107010040271
Mobile Number: 9843135401
eSewa - 9841298442 (eSewa name - Kanchan Burathoki. Please write "Min dai" under "remarks")
This is Min dai in 2011, just before going to Malaysia.Min dai in 2018, working as a security guard in Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia.The Embassy of Nepal in Malaysia issues a one way travel document to undocumented workers without passports. Min dai received his through an agent on 30 November, 2021.Min dai received his pathology report on 19 December 2021.His surgery details written by the doctorMin dai in B.P. Koirala Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur, NepalHis mother in front of her shop in the squatter area they live in.Organizer
Diwas Gurung
Organizer
Ithaca, NY