Chotu is a 16-year-old carpenter working at a wood craft outlet in Patan Industrial Estate. He is from Bihar, India and is currently living inside the industrial estate with his co-workers.
He came to Nepal last year during Holi. He does not understand Nepali and prefers to stay quiet whenever people start conversing in Nepali. Chotu has never been to school. He said he started working since the age of 13. Each day, he makes around 10 to 15 doorframes out of Sisau wood.
Advisory task force recommends keeping marriage age at 18
He is from a family of five, including his parents and two brothers. “Life is hard in Nepal because I don’t understand the language. It becomes more difficult when people talk to me in Nepali. But, I am trying to learn.”
He said he sometimes misses his family, and plans to go home to meet them this Tihar.
