I am a teacher at Gyan Niketan School, where Ram Bahadur Chaudhary works as a security guard. Ram Bahadur Chaudhary is 35 years old. He works as a security guard in Gyan Niketan School of Kathmandu. He has a father, mother, wife and two sons. They live together in a village in Doti, which is very far from the Kathmandu city. Ram is illiterate because his village is in remote area and his parents do not understand the purpose of an education and neither do they have the means to acquire it. Text & Pictures by Meena Mangrati.

(Left) Ram Bahadur rings the school bell to signal recess time.

Bahadur is a 24-hour guard at Gyan Niketan School. While the students are in class, he steps out briefly to buys himself lunch, and takes it back to the school to eat.

Bahadur shares that while he feels sad about being an illiterate, he is very happy that he has a job, and that it is in a very comfortable environment like this school.

Bahadur has been working at this school for 15 years. He is good and honest man, and all students and school staff are fond of him.

Apart from his primary guard duties, Bahadur has a handful of other chores to fulfill in the school.

In order to complete all his tasks by the end of the day, Bahadur raises at 3AM, six days a week.

Bahadur takes pleasure in assisting the teachers in the school as well. He helps deliver books to Babina Khatri, a teacher at Gyan Niketan School.

Bahadur stops to chat to Anjan K.C., a Level 1 student at Gyan Niketan School.

At the end of the school day, Bahadur takes his work from the school gate to the school kitchen - it is also his responsibility to prepare dinner for other staff in the school that have to work through the evening and night.

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