It is nearly 4 years since the devastating earthquake hit Nepal, the world has moved on.  However, for Nepal, things will never be the same again and the children who we are working with are still deeply traumatized by the event.

Hari (not his real name) is now 16 years old and studied until grade 5 in school in the Dhading district, which was one of the areas mosted devasted by earthquake. Hari's house was destroyed and their land became unsuitable for farming. His parents managed to find work as daily labourers but they just couldn't earn enough to feed their family.  So, Hari moved to Pokhara in search of work.  

Hari found a job in a car wash garage, where his working and living conditions were appalling and his health started to suffer.  He was given one meal a day and a place to sleep but was not paid. One of our social workers found him and started working with Hari's employer to provide him with a clean and safe place to sleep and two meals a day.  Hari was keen to resume his studies but it was not possible for him to study in a regular school, so he joined one of our functional learning courses, where he studied hard and was a key member of the group.  These courses take place outside the working day either in the early morning or the evening in a convenient place for the students to get to.

Hari is now a full-time employee at the garage, living in better conditions and most importantly is now earning, which has enabled him to send some money home. He says that the functional learning course has developed his confidence  and now has a  hope for better future.

Thank you for support which has enabled us to turn Hari's life around.

The Kidasha Team

I would like to share with you the success of one of our boys who we have been working with for a number of years now.  Our work isn't a quick fix and there are many challenges which have to be overcome.  Here is a shining example of the work our partners are doing in turning around the lives of the most vunerable children in Nepal.

Nabin (not his real name) is now 17 years old and has been on and off the street since he was 11 years old. Two years ago, he was motivated by Kidasha outreach workers to leave the street and join the Rehabilitation Centre. Initially leaving street life was difficult for Nabin and several times he ran away back to the street, his street gang and substance abuse. With the support of his social worker, Nabin was able to better appreciate the impact this was having on his life and to learn to develop better coping strategies. After six months he moved into the Midway Home and started attending school again.

Over the next year Nabin progressed well in school, made new friends and started to increase contact with his family, progressively spending weekends staying with his father. His confidence grew and he became better at dealing with challenges he faced in his daily life – no longer resorting to escaping to the street or drugs. In the school holidays Nabin would work in a metal workshop earning and saving money. Six months ago, Nabin made the decision to start living with his father again. Supported by Kidasha’s social worker, both father and son have learnt to adapt their behaviours and live together positively. Nabin himself paid for his school fees this year and he is studying hard and aims to graduate from high school in the next two years.

“I really liked the midway home and the way it worked. The rules had the right balance and we were encouraged to go out to school, training or work. It’s from there I learnt to quit bad habits myself, not because I was forced to. I feel a much stronger person now.”

None of this would have been possible without your generous support.  Sadly there are many more children like Nabin in Nepal who need our help.  If you were able to give another donation, we would be able to change more lives for the better in Nepal.

Many thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes

The Kidasha Team

Our shelter supports the recovery of young female vicitms of violence, abuse and exploitation and it facilitates their reintegration into society.

During 2018, a total of 81 girls used our shelter for protection and rehabilitation. This is a slightly higher number than we had planned but of course no vulnerable girl can be turned away. All the girls were assessed and received basic counselling as part of our case management process and 40 received more intensive longer-term counselling. In addition, all the girls received health assessments and follow-up medical support as required.

Activities provided in the shelter include informal education, social skills, life skills and awareness on sexual & reproductive health, art and dance therapy and self-defence classes.

Whilst some girls used the shelter for a temporary period only (e.g. girls who had been supported in the past returning for some respite when facing troubles) there were 63 new cases. Of these, 26 girls were reintegrated back with their families following comprehensive assessments and family counselling and 23 girls not able to return to their families (often victims of abuse within their families) were referred to long-term residential care. Two girls were supported to live independently, securing employment and given financial help to rent and equip accommodation. 11 girls are in the process of reintegration and still residing in the shelter.

Every effort was made to ensure that girls supported in the shelter had access to education and training opportunities appropriate to their age and circumstances; six girls were supported into vocational training and three benefitted from job facilitation. In addition, 31 girls who had been reintegrated with their families before the start of this year were provided with educational support to ensure their continued participation in school.

Of the 56 girls who were victims of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or trafficking, 15 were able to register legal cases and to seek legal redress. In other instances, either they and/or their families were unwilling to report cases or there was insufficient evidence for the police to register a case or identify the perpetrator.
Out of the 15 legal cases, six have achieved successful outcomes with the perpetrator receiving a custodial sentence, while nine cases are ongoing. In four of these, the perpetrators have absconded and in the remainder the perpetrators are in pre-trial detention. The project also managed to secure birth certificates for four girls who did not have birth registration or proof of age essential to the legal process.

None of this would have been possible without your generous support, but there is still a lot more to do, so it would be fantastic if you could consider donating again to this project.

Thank you

The Kidasha Team