They say it takes a village to help a child in need.
Rajesh “Raj” Shahi, in the early 1990s was destined for a life of poverty as a beggar with a hunchback – until a special village in Massachusetts came to the rescue.
He had a spinal curvature issue – kyphoscoliosis – that made his back resemble a turtle shell and with no access to proper medical care in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Thanks to the community in Mattapoisett and medical staff in Boston, Shahi, now approaching 44, is a successful director of a school in Nepal, where he now pays it forward by helping children in need.
“They (friends in Massachusetts) changed my life and they have given me a new life,” said Shahi during a recent interview with The Wanderer.
Shahi came to Massachusetts at the age of 13 in 1993, after he was sponsored by Hands in Outreach, a group that helps impoverished children in Nepal.
Nepal operates under a caste system. Shahi’s family was in a lower class, and his chances of a good and successful life were minimal at best until HIO and his Massachusetts community stepped in.
Charles Duponte, a Mattapoisett resident, first initiated work to help Shahi. His then wife Johanna Duponte-Williams took Shahi in, helping him to get medical care in Boston and recover in Mattapoisett.
Shahi then attended Old Hammondtown Elementary School, where Grade 6 teacher Karen McQuillan prepared her students for Shahi’s stay. She altered her curriculum to help students learn about the culture of Nepal and how the caste system left Shahi and his family with little access to proper medical care or any chance of upward economic mobility.
The students and staff at Old Hammondtown responded, bowing to Shahi as he entered the building for the first time, and forming protective circles around him so he would not reinjure his back.
Their first word to the student was the customary greeting of honor – “Namaste.”
Shahi said that his host community in Mattapoisett and the medical team at New England Baptist Hospital helped him “to understand the value of helping others.”
“They are my family. They gave me a very special time in that time (period). All my friends, they helped me a lot and are in my heart always. I am very thankful and thankful to God for giving me amazing friends for me and my life,” Shahi said.
Now, Shahi runs a school with 40 students, giving back to the poor children of Nepal, completing the cycle of giving that started with him. He is married with two children of his own but calls his students his “children as well.”
“I think it’s karma,” said Duponte-Williams, who became a mother figure to Shahi. “How amazing that all of these connections happened.”
Duponte-Williams said she could never conceive a child on her own, but after her experience with Shahi, she later adopted children.
Duponte-Williams, an occupational therapist, said that before Shahi came to Mattapoisett, she looked at his picture and was moved by his smile. She and other supporters all rallied behind him.
But at first it was an uphill battle. Some medical professionals at first thought Shahi’s condition was so bad that it could not be reversed.
Duponte-Williams says she remembers showing Shahi’s X-rays to Dr. Tucker AuFranc, who shared them with colleagues Alexander Wright and Peter Anas. Both noticed the spinal curvature was so severe it threatened his lung capacity.
They called it the worst case of its kind.
But nobody gave up. Wright, with Anas’ help, performed an eight-hour surgery on Shahi in 1993, installing in him a rod with metal side pieces into his back, with hooks that connect to his ribs.
It took months of recovery, but Shahi was able to return to Nepal but not before students and teachers at the school donated clothing to Shahi for his return home, some of which got him through the winter months in New England.
In 2008, Shahi returned for a recheck, and Duponte-Williams threw a huge reunion party.
Before his return home, Duponte-Williams introduced Shahi to different Christian religions and the local Quakers, giving him an understanding of other religions and ways of life.
Duponte-Williams said Shahi went to a Catholic church and noticed the image of Jesus on the cross. Duponte-Williams told Shahi the story of Jesus’ resurrection, and Shahi responded, “Your God is a powerful God.”
Duponte-Williams also got to learn about Shahi’s religion and ways of life. At one point, after Shahi returned to Nepal, Duponte-Williams went to a gathering for the Dalai Lama. She remembers talking to a monk and expressing concern that Shahi would have trouble adjusting again to life in Nepal. The monk responded, “It is much more likely to change your life, Dear.”
Shahi lately has been complaining of back pain and will be returning to Boston later this year for a checkup and a computed tomography scan.
Duponte-Williams and other supporters have raised just under $3,000, but that will likely only cover travel expenses.
To donate, send a check to Mattapoisett Friends Meeting (helping fund/Nepal in the memo) and mail to PO Box 795, Mattapoisett, MA 02739 or donate online https://gofund.me/db6d5743. Donations can also be sent via Venmo @Johanna-Duponte-Williams – last four digits of telephone number 7721 – memo for Raj.
By Jeffrey D. Wagner