Hari Budha Magar: Photo credit Abiral Rai

Disability champion will speak at wellbeing awards

Double amputee Hari Budha Magar will be one of the VIP speakers at the 2024 Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards.

The Gurkha veteran, who lost both his legs above the knee to an IED in Afghanistan in 2010, is now a champion for disability and veteran causes.

Hari will celebrate the work of 50 of Kent’s wellbeing champions presenting top awards linked to veterans support, mental health and workplace wellbeing.

Hari Budha Magar: Photo credit Shanta Nepali

The Kent Mental Wellbeing awards is an annual event designed to showcase the people, organisations and initiatives that help us cope with life. The event’s three themes are: kindness and compassion; wellbeing; mental health.

Whether it is in school, business, community or family, so many of us have been lucky to have people and organisations with ideas, tips and tactics to help us cope. It is time to celebrate those mental health and well-being champions in our community and share this best practice.

The deadline to submit a nomination for this year’s awards is noon on 1 September. Winners will be invited to an awards celebration staged in October by the mental health charity Mind in Bexley and East Kent in collaboration with a range of wellbeing and mental health organisations.

Nominations can be linked to a simple act of kindness that lifted the spirits, a business that has improved staff wellbeing, through to a targeted initiative delivered by a charity or statutory organisation to support a mental health issue.

The event is sponsored by Kent County Council, Kent Community Foundation, ADM Computing, GrainLNG – National Grid, Medway Council, Optyma Security, Wave Community Bank, Cactus Graphics and CommunityAid.

Submit nominations at www.kentmentalwellbeingawards.org.uk  For awards news follow @KentMWAwards on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Changing perceptions about disability

43-year-old Hari Budha Magar has stood victorious atop the world’s tallest mountain as the first ever double above-knee amputee to climb Everest.

Through his climb, Hari aimed to change perceptions on disability and inspire people to climb their own ‘mountains’ no matter the adversity that stands in their way.

Now that dedication has resulted in Hari being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to disability awareness.

Hari’s life profoundly changed in 2010 when he lost both his legs above the knee to an IED in Afghanistan.

After struggling to come to terms with losing his legs, he has made it his mission to inspire and change perceptions with regards to disability globally. Around 15 per cent of the world’s population have some kind of disability. That’s nearly 1 billion people worldwide. In summiting Everest he hopes to inspire other people facing similar circumstances to believe anything is possible with the right mindset.

Struggling with injury

When Hari was hit by the explosion he sustained multiple injuries including the loss of his legs.

Hari Budha Magar: Photo credit Richard Munn

Hari’s first thought after the explosion was the safety of his men, his second thought was that he had somehow let them down and failed his mission. As a soldier, Hari was prepared to face death, but he had never considered the possibility that he would sustain life-changing injuries and live to tell the tale.

“I can remember everything about the day I lost my legs. We were on patrol with two aims: to familiarise ourselves with a new area and survey and repair a well, so the locals could get water. It was mid-afternoon on a very hot, sunny day and we were told it was safe. I was wearing 15kg of body armour, radio, water, rations, first aid kit, ammunition, and a spare weapon by my side. I remember the local children asking us for sweets and stopping to give them some.

“Suddenly a loud bang, and the first thing was a ringing in my right ear. My body armour came up towards my face, my right arm was injured and I couldn’t move it. I was looking for a tourniquet to stem the blood and I called for one of my colleagues to help sort me out. My right leg wasn’t there, my left was but dangling as skin and bone.

“Was I going to survive? I didn’t know. As the guys patched me up, I heard them say a helicopter was inbound in 10mins, so that meant yes, I was going to survive. “I was second in command to a young officer who I had trained alongside for six months before deploying to Afghanistan. I was the most senior Gurkha, and the squad relied on me to make decisions. When I spoke, they listened. Some of the other junior NCOs were very young and my aim was for them to do the six-month tour, stay safe, and return home. But, after the explosion I couldn’t see that through.

When I woke I was filled with shame and I remember saying to the commanding officer – I’m sorry sir. When Hari woke in the hospital bed, he felt desolate and hopeless. He questioned what kind of life he would be able to lead in the future, and whether it would even be worth living. His mind full of negative thoughts. “In the days after the injury, I lacked the courage to lift the bed covers to look at my legs. My mind raced with questions – how would I support my family? Will I be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life? Will my wife leave me?

“Back in the UK I started drinking a lot and mixing it with my medication. My brain became foggy. I couldn’t concentrate and my hands shook when I wasn’t drinking. Had I carried on that way, I wouldn’t be here today and I knew that if I left my family on their own they would suffer.”

Hari was ashamed to be seen in public, because he had grown up in a society where many Nepalese believed that those with disabilities had sinned in a former life and the disability was a form of punishment or karma. “After my injuries, initially I completely lost confidence. In Nepal, disability was viewed, by most people, as if you’d done something wrong in your previous life and now had the burden of the Earth to carry.

Instead of helping people with disabilities, they hide them in a corner. I remember waiting in Kathmandu and a lady said: ‘You’ve got fake legs. Why don’t you wear trousers, you’d look normal?’ and I replied: ‘This is normal to me.”

Hari spent a month in hospital and worked tirelessly over 12 months learning to walk again on his prosthetic legs. With time and determination, Hari took control, regained his self-esteem, and challenged himself to exceed the limitations put on ‘disabled’ people by society.

“Everybody in life has ups and downs, and when they’re low, that’s the time they need help: family, charity, friends, community. It’s make or break. I was privileged to serve in the army and had good prosthetic legs. I was treated by the charity Combat Stress for six weeks. Slowly I started doing sports. It was through golf and the On Course Foundation that I started to get my confidence back and I began to see what I could do physically.”

Since his injury, Hari has battled to rediscover his confidence through an array of sports and adventures. He has done everything from skydiving to kayaking, cycling to skiing, and golf to climbing. Hari was the first ever disabled person to ski in Nepal, and was one of the first double above-knee (DAK) amputees to kayak around the Isle of Wight. He holds the world record for being the first ever DAK to summit a mountain over 6,000m.

During his rehabilitation, Hari was supported by the following charities and organisations: Gurkha Welfare Trust, On Course Foundation, Blesma, Combat Stress, Pilgrim Bandits, Style for Soldiers, Royal British Legion, Combat Stress, the NHS, Costello Prosthetics. POA Orlando and Ottobok.  Hari did not accept the discriminatory beliefs of so many towards disability, so he decided to challenge them, and to change them.

Campaigning for change

Throughout his life, Hari wanted to climb Everest, but there was always something stopping him, whether it be lack of money, time, or something else.

In losing his legs above the knee it galvanised Hari and gave him extra motivation to accomplish this superhuman feat. However, in 2017, Nepal banned solo, blind, and double amputee climbers from climbing Mount Everest. This was a huge blow to Hari who was planning his big ascent.

Hari Budha Magar: Photo credit Shanta Nepali

Called out the new regulations as discriminatory, Hari joined forces with other climbers and disability organisations and successfully overturned the ban at the Supreme Court in Nepal in 2018.

Hari hopes his Everest expedition will raise awareness of disabilities around the world, honour fallen comrades who didn’t return home, make those who saved his life proud, and inspire others to chase their dreams. He is determined to show what resilience, human endeavour, courage, and the power of a positive mindset can achieve; he will prove that anything is possible.

Hari is raising £884,900 (the height of Everest plus two 00s) for five amazing charities that helped him through his rehabilitation. Visit www.haribudhamagar.com to find out more.