Hiramati Narayan is one strong woman. Losing her home and belongings after the floods earlier this year, she has come through it all and conveys a message of hope to others who have suffered substantial loss.
As the 43-year-old Ba market vendor tells it, she and her husband were among 15 rescued from Ba town at the height of the floods.
She said the experience of losing her home, furniture, saved finances and all her produce, was one that made her work harder.
Faith, she added, made all the difference.
"I told myself, "Hiramati, you have worked too hard and you have given your children life, and if you can survive through those struggles, then you can survive through this one," she said of her flood ordeal.
Her testimony — as a home owner and market vendor — was one of many shared during the International Day of Rural Women workshop, organised by the UN Women.
The workshop was hosted by the Ba Women Vendors Association.
"My family was hit very hard by the floods — our water, electricity and all of our produce that was at the Ba market was gone," she shared.
"The January floods were bad, but the one that hit the hardest was the one in March.
"This was really bad. I remember the exact time, midnight on a Friday, we woke up to water up to our ankles and decided to go get our things from the market." She said by the time they got to the market it was too late.
"When we left for the market the flooding wasn't so bad. But by the times we got there, water had risen to our shins. Then about a half hour later, water was up to our waists — this made movement so hard.
"It eventually became too difficult to collect our things as everything was floating by then, so we ended up leaving everything behind."
The water continued to rise so fast, they knew they had to think of their safety.
"It was up to our necks not long after we got to the market, there wasn't enough time and we could barely move anywhere, we just left everything behind and looked for shelter."
Ms Narayan and her husband floated for half an hour before reaching a nearby hill where they avoided being swept away by hanging onto some roots and branches.
"Because I was very sickly then, my husband gave me his coat and tried to wrap me in it, saying that we would keep on fighting," she said.
She added that at one point, she felt like giving up and letting go but faith kept her going.
From that hill, she and her husband eventually floated for another hour until they reached Ba Motor Parts, where they were sheltered from the rain, but still needed to hang onto infrastructure around them.
"All up we floated for four hours straight - from 1am to 5am -until we were helped by people in a shop that was not flooded.
They gave us a place to shower, some clothes, some food and something to drink. They were really helpful and considerate," she said.
The couple immediately worked on rebuilding their lives and Ms Narayan continues to work at the Ba market — something she has done for the past six years.
"It is a happy and fulfilling life. I continue to look forward to what the future has in store," she said.