Ramnagar
In October 2022, we got the opportunity to explore the labyrinth of communities in Patna. In the process we came across Ramnagar Kushtashram and were intrigued by the visually explicit embodiment of social exclusion that was found in this location. Located under the Digha Bridge flyover and running parallel to the railway line in Danapur, the people residing here, cut off from Bihar’s capital, Ramnagar is a community of Leprosy affected people. They live in uncertainty about their homes as the railway department and the irrigation department claim ownership of the land where they are settled. The stigma attached with leprosy closes off the opportunity to engage in sustainable jobs and thus hinders the possibility of availing education beyond the age of 14. Swirling in advertisement boards of NGO’s claiming to help them, the community seemed more left out and alone because of lack of sanitation, breathable space and vulnerability to geographical factors like the rain and storms.
Birth of Athi Initiative
In our initial set of interactions with the people of Ramnagar, we came to know that lack of access to livelihood opportunities is a major problem. Further discussions led to the understanding that the women of Ramnagar know how to…