For 21-year-old Yojan Budha, education was not just a dream but a hard-fought journey. A native of Supana village in Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality-2 of Bajura, he had left behind poverty and hardship to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Pashupati Campus in Kathmandu.

Yojan had been living in a rented room in the Capital, working odd jobs to continue his studies. He had chosen law in his higher secondary studies and was determined to build a better future, despite his family’s limited means.

His father, Madipal Budha, survived by doing seasonal labour in India, struggling to support the household. Recognising this hardship, a local woman, Sharada Singh, from Kolti, had taken Yojan in from grade three, helping him study up to Grade 10.

But that path of hope ended abruptly. Yojan went missing during the Gen Z protests on September 8. Four days later, on September 12, his relatives found him lifeless at B&B Hospital. He bore a deep head injury and a broken arm, according to Bharat Bahadur Rokaya, chairperson of the rural municipality.

The tragic news shook his family. With the help of the rural municipality, Yojan’s parents—Madipal and Chaupata—were brought to Kathmandu. On September 13, they collected their son’s body and performed his final rites. His father is now observing mourning rituals at Pashupati.

For a young man who had fought against all odds to continue his education, Yojan’s untimely death has left his family and community heartbroken, a stark reminder of the human cost of unrest.