When people come together on social media, incredible action is made possible. If you grew up watching Nepali cinema, then you may have seen Deepak Chettri in one of the many dozen of films that he has acted in. Unfortunately, even being a recognisable face and having a visible career brought challenges for Chettri as it was recently discovered that the actor was suffering with an illness that affected his speech. The actor shared with an online media team about his health and shared how he requested for help from the Ministry of Information and Communication. Even without any financial support from the Ministry or medical treatment, the actor continued to act in films, clinging onto hope that he would get better.
With the online media team covering the story of the actor, fellow actors from the fraternity to Nepalis living in Nepal and abroad joined hands individually and collectively to raise funds to support the medical treatment for the actor. The GoFundMe page created by director Suresh Darpan Pokharel has raised $4493 USD whilst the page created by Canada Nepal on behalf of Binod Marahatta has raised $6000 USD.
The most recent videos from different online portals follow the actor meeting the doctors and arranging medical treatment.
Social media can indeed be a blessing when used to shine a light on issues that matter, that need to be addressed or supported as in the case of actor Chettri. Nepalese people have come together on several occasions, from the time of Kumar Kancha’s illness to the Basantapur Acid Attacks. Let’s continue to use the internet and our respective platforms and profiles responsibly whilst being careful about any unpredictable and uncertain days ahead where and when, we may face a crisis in our lives.
