Story
A few months ago, a shelter home in Kathmandu was closed after the 132 children were found to be malnourished and mistreated. Asha Nepal was called on to see if they could help take any children. We had space for two girls. However, when two of our team went to the shelter, they were so overwhelmed by the plight of the children, that they brought 7 girls back to Asha for emergency care.
These girls, along with the majority of the rescued children, had been "orphanage trafficked" from Humla, one of the most remote, rural and poverty-stricken regions in Nepal, adjacent to Tibet.
Over the following weeks and months, we contacted their families and these 7 girls were returned home to Humla. In September, we went to do follow-up visits with the children and their families.
We were staggered by the remoteness of Humla and poverty. Even some of the retuned-girls looked more malnourished than the day they had been returned.
What Should We Do?
As a team, we have decided to
continue working with the families of the children that we had temporarily in our care, and follow them up, working with the social workers and women we met on our visit. We will be able to stay in touch through the phone and will visit next year to follow-up again.
We will look for ways to empower the mothers of the children to be economically independent. We will look at small business ideas, such as incense stick making, animal husbandry, and farming. There are schools in Humla, but to gain a great education may mean a little money spent on private education which can make all the difference between meaningful employment or not, at the end of education.
We are going to investigate the possibility of multivitamin distribution.
Our aim is for children to be healthy, nourished, well and educated, all while staying in their family and within their community.
All this takes money.
How Can You Help?
Please, be in touch. If you know
small start-up business ideas that have worked in rural areas, and that are culturally sensitive, then let us know and work with us.
Please donate: we have set up this Humla Fund so that we can continue our work caring for these children, and most importantly, to bring about economic empowerment for their families.
We aim to bring a small change, little by little. One precious girl at a time.
You can make a big difference.