About Child Action Nepal

1
About Child Action Nepal
CHILD ACTION NEPAL

• February 2008

2
Background

• Based on GDP, Nepal ranks as one of the worlds
  ten poorest nations. With the economic slowdown,
  diseases, natural disasters, poverty and the
  current Maoist Peoples War, there are a
  growing number of children orphaned or made
  homeless. 
• Some are left with relatives, who often are
  unable to cope with additional numbers, or join
  the thousands of homeless street children, who
  usually end up in the cities living a life of
  misery and squalor.
• Many young girls (estimated at up to 5,000 per
  year) are abducted and forced to work as
  prostitute in India and the Middle East where
  their comparatively fair skin is considered
  attractive. Nepals cultural practices are often
  responsible for a childs plight, particularly in
  the case of second marriages. If a couple
  separates or divorces, or one of the parents die,
  the parent with custody of the children often
  remarries. Usually the new spouse will want
  little to do with the children who are treated
  like household slaves or are cast out. Often, the
  children end up left to their own devices. It
  is children from such environments who have found
  their way to the orphanage funded by Child Action
  Nepal.   
• A few figures about Nepals children
• Children under 16 years of age represent 40 of
  the population  (9.2  million)
• Almost 40 of these children are deprived of the
  right to  education
• 2.6 million children out of this are forced to
  work for their own  survival. Many are living and
  working in inhuman and deprived  conditions
• Out of 100 children
• 86 live in rural areas and 14 in urban centres
• 42 live in absolute poverty
• 56 suffer from malnutrition
• 51 complete primary school
• 3 die of diarrhoea
• 51 are girls but only 61 of the girls are
  enrolled in primary school compared with 79 for
  the boys

3
A Charity Dedicated to Children

• Child Action Nepal was established in April 2003
  and is a UK registered Charity
• Our purpose is to raise money to support
  orphanages in Nepal of relatively small size (20
  to 25 children maximum) with the aim of providing
  a family atmosphere for the children.  
• The Trust will seek to ensure that those
  orphanages that it supports provide high quality
  education and healthcare.  
• The trusts first project is Laliguraas Baal
  Uddhyaan (LBU), an orphanage situated in the
  Kathmandu Valley. LBU was established in 2002 by
  one of the trustees, Florence Krief and is home
  to 20 children

The New House in May 2007 before we transformed
the entrance into a study room
The back yard after refurbishment
4
LBU

• Laliguraas Baal Uddhyaan is a non governmental
  organisation (NGO) registered in the Central
  District Office and with the Social Welfare
  Council, in accordance with Nepalese law.  
• LBU comprises a beautiful house with a front
  garden, and a backyard where the children can
  play basketball.  
• The house has been extensively refurbished and
  now has the benefit of a permanent water supply
  together with nine solar panels that provide hot
  water to the bathrooms.  
• In an atmosphere more family like than many of
  the large institutions funded by international
  donors in Nepals cities, the children are given
  nutritious meals, have their education and health
  needs catered for and are raised in a loving,
  caring environment.   
• In addition to being schooled locally, the
  children have a programme of entertainment to
  help develop their imagination and social skills
  and to ensure that life in LBU is fun!  
• Most importantly, we want to ensure that the
  children have a wide vision of the world and are
  not confined to the orphanage and its immediate
  surroundings  
• A working committee of seven voluntary members
  has been established to oversee the management of
  the home. The members have been selected for
  their competencies as well as their dedication to
  social work and children  
• Four full time employees and one part time
  education manager take care of the children on a
  daily basis.

Mr Rolak Thapa, the house manager and one of the
founders of LBU, with his wife and son
Kumari, Tulasie (Rolaks wife), Dancing teacher,
Kamala
5
Our Children

• LBU has 20 children, 10 girls and 10 boys who are
  now between the age of 8 and 16 years old.
• Children at School
• Their school day typically commences at 6.00 am
  with tea and a biscuit, before taking a shower
  followed by play and then time to revise their
  homework. At 8.30 am they have their first proper
  meal and then take the bus to school, where
  lessons start at 9.30 am and finish at 4.00 pm.
    
• The Education Manager supervises their homework
  before their dinner, which is at around 7.30 pm
  in accordance with Nepalese habits. They play or
  finish their homework and are in bed, hopefully
  content, by 9.00 pm.
• On Saturday and during school holidays, the
  children play music, enjoy drawing and dancing
  lessons. Picnics and sightseeing activities are
  also arranged.  
• Until last year the children would watch DVDs on
  our office computer. In October 2007, a group of
  trekkers who raised funds for CAN enabled us to
  buy a large screen TV, on which our children and
  staff can watch DVDs and selected programmes from
  Discovery or National Geographic channels.

Children at Annapurna School in 2003
Before going to Emerald School in 2005
6
Kalpana
Kalpana in the bad orphanage

• One of our first orphans, Kalpana is now 16
  years old. She is a wonderful young girl, very
  kind and affectionate and often behaves like a
  little mother with the younger children.
• She endured a very hard life before arriving to
  LBU. Her father committed suicide when she was 8
  years old and her mother became very depressed,
  started drinking alcohol and died one year later.
  
• After the death of their parents, Kalpana, her
  two older sisters (both of whom are now married)
  and a younger brother, Krishna, (who is now
  living with her at LBU) stayed for one and a half
  years with their uncle. A simple farmer with
  children of his own he accepted an offer from a
  refuge in Kathmandu to take care of the children.
• Unfortunately, this refuge was a shameful place.
  The children, as witnessed by Florence Krief
  during her work there as a volunteer, were
  malnourished, often beaten and were not enrolled
  in school. Kalpana stayed there nearly 18 months
  until she was taken back by an aunt, who decided
  to re-unite her with her brother at LBU.
• When she was seven years old, Kalpana suffered
  third degree burns to nearly half of her body,
  following an accident with boiling water. In
  early 2002 she underwent reconstructive surgery
  to release a burn contracture and in September
  the same year, Dr Rai performed additional
  surgery to improve the mobility of her arm and
  neck. One of the best plastic surgeons in South
  Asia, Dr Rai generously did not charge for his
  services.
• Originally, Kalpana had little opportunity to go
  to school. At her arrival, we enrolled her in
  class I and she is now in Class II, very keen to
  learn and is improving rapidly. She is
  approaching adolescence and we will try to ensure
  that she does not feel different from the other
  girls of her age.

Shortly after being rescued in 2002
Kalpana today
7
Budget 2008

• For 2008, our running costs of LBU are estimated
  at 13,200. In addition, our annual rent is
  4,000
• Staff include
• A House Manager, his wife and baby
• 3 ladies who clean the house and childrens
  clothes, cook and do the gardening
• An Education manager employed part time
• During the first year of its establishment, LBUs
  costs were entirely paid for by Florence Krief,
  but since 2004 the Trust is funding the
  orphanage.
• At present Child Action Nepal is not funded by
  any major international organisation and is
  wholly reliant on donations.
• All CANs administrative costs are supported by
  the trustees.
• Your donations are important and will benefit the
  children directly.

8
Contact Details

• If you wish to make a donation, please either
  visit our website www.childactionnepal.org.uk
  where you can donate online, or send a cheque
  payable to Child Action Nepal together with our
  Gift Aid Donation Form to the address below.
• Alternatively, donations may also be sent
  directly to our bank account
• Bank name CAF Bank Ltd
• Sort code 40 52 40
• Account number 00010441
• In this case please also complete and send us a
  Gift Aid Donation Form as it will enable us to
  reclaim tax on your donation
• If you wish to make regular donations, then
  please complete our Standing Order Form and send
  it to us at the above address. You can sponsor a
  child for only 40 or 20/month.
• Child Action Nepal
• PO Box 39679
• London W2 6YP
• info_at_childactionnepal.org.uk
• Tel [phone]
• www.childactionnepal.org.uk
• UK Registered Charity No. 1097447