SOS Children in Nepal

Nepal is classified as one of the world's least developed and poorest countries. On the slopes of the Himalayas, it is subject to frequent natural disasters such as floods and landslides. More than 40 per cent of the population are under-nourished; life expectancy is low and TB, typhoid and cholera are still widespread. Poverty is most acute in the mid-western and far western regions as well as in the mountains. Those regions are also the epicentre of an armed insurrection, which has exacerbated poverty and hampered the delivery of basic social services.

SOS Children began working in Nepal in the 1970s. There are now nine communities which are all together home to over a thousand children and young people. The charity also runs a variety of social, medical and educational facilities which provide much-needed help and assistance for local communities.

The charity built Nepal's first community at Sanothimi on former rice terraces about 15 km from the centre of Kathmandu. Opened in 1973, the Village has sixteen family houses which provide a new home and a mother for up to 160 children. A nursery school as well as SOS Primary and Secondary schools are based in the village, providing an education to both children from the village and from the local community. The Village also has a Vocational Training Centre; open to people in the local community, providing courses in ceramics and other trades.

The SOS Village in Pokhara-Chhorepatan opened in 1975. This Village cares specifically for Tibetan refugee children and is one of the largest SOS Children's projects in Nepal. As well as the twelve family houses and the youth house, it has a nursery school and two schools. This includes the Namgyal Higher Secondary School in Gorkna, which is the only higher secondary school for Tibetans in Nepal. Pokhara also has an SOS Vocational Training Centre which provides opportunities for young Tibetans from all over Nepal to acquire technical skills and trades suitable for the local job market. Part of the apprenticeship scheme involves work such as connecting homes to electricity in the local refugee camps.

The charity opened its third village in Gandaki in 1979. Located in the highlands, west of Kathmandu, it has fifteen family house and two youth houses, which together are home to nearly 200 children and young people. Additional facilities include a nursery school and an SOS School for up to 800 primary and secondary level pupils. In 2003, an SOS Social Centre was established here, running a Family Strengthening Programme which includes providing child care for local working mothers and medical treatment for the community.

Opened in 1983, SOS Children's Jorpati community, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, cares specifically for children and young people with special needs. 50 children live in the five family houses here, which were specially designed to meet the requirements of physically challenged children.  The Village also has a therapy room with a small pool for physical therapy. An SOS Youth Centre opened here in 1995, providing tailored support for older children with special needs. Click here for further information about this Village.

SOS Children's Surkhet community is in a small valley in western Nepal, to road to which is only passable in dry weather. Opened in 1987, over 200 children and young people live in the fourteen family houses and the two youth houses. The SOS School provides primary and secondary education for 500 pupils and daily child-care and medical treatment for local families are available at the SOS Social Centre.

SOS Children's Itahari community, in eastern Nepal near the Indian border, opened in 1992. It has fourteen family houses and two youth houses. Like Gandaki, it has a nursery school, a primary and a secondary school. Opened in 2001, an SOS Youth Home located in nearby Biratnagar provides housing and support for older children whilst they undertake further education and gradually learn to live independently. A SOS Social Centre provides courses in handicrafts for local women to help them to improve their skills and employment prospects.

SOS Children's Kavre community opened in 1997, about 30 km east of Kathmandu near the small towns of Panauti and Banepa. It has fourteen family houses for up to 140 children. The SOS School teaches primary and secondary level pupils, and includes a nursery school. Of the 500 pupils, approximately 100 come from the SOS Children's Village and the rest from the local area. This helps the children to integrate into the surrounding community. An SOS Social Centre provides support programmes for local underprivileged families.

SOS Children's Village Bharatpur opened in 2003. It is the district capital of Chitawan in central Nepal. The village now has 14 family homes, an SOS Nursery School for 80 children, and a combined Primary and Secondary School for 580 children. In addition there is a SOS Social Centre which provides child day-care and health counselling to 40 families every month.

A ninth SOS Village opened in March 2010 in Lumbini, in the west of the country. The Village consists of 15 family houses which will, when full, will provide a new home for up to 150 children.  An SOS Nursery with two group rooms provides day-care for up to 80 small children. The possibility for a Family Strengthening Programme here is currently being explored. SOS Nepal hopes to be able to support around 300 local children near Lumbini through Family Strengthening Programmes by the end of 2010.

At present there are nine SOS Children's Villages in Nepal, seven SOS Youth Homes, eight SOS Schools, three SOS Vocational Training Centres, eight SOS Social Centres with Family Strengthening Programmes and one SOS Medical Centre.

Dhan Bahadur Bholan, a labourer, had been living happily with his wife and four children up in the hills in remote Nepal. Suddenly, two tragedies struck in quick succession, leaving his family shattered: He lost one leg and his wife died. With the support provided by SOS Children's Villages, Bholan is gradually coming back into life again.

On a typical day, Bholan was working in the field, with his children at school and his wife Sun Maya at home. "Nobody was there. I was preparing the field for the new crop while totally lost in my thoughts. A big stone from uphill fell on my leg, and I slipped into unconsciousness," Bholan recalled the tragic incident.  It was his wife who found him lying there unconsciously when she went there with his lunch. She cried and a number of people gathered around. When Bholan had regained his consciousness, he would cry with utmost pain and found it really difficult to stand on his own - his left leg was fractured. The hospital was far away, and he was admitted only one day after the accident.  

The doctors diagnosed multiple fractures on his left leg and decided to amputate the leg knee down. A proverbial 'Himalayan' burden fell on Sun Maya's shoulders. She started working in the fields, in homes and doing other petty jobs, but that was not enough to make ends meet.

Destiny played a cruel joke on the family when another tragedy struck. Sun Maya died in a thunderstorm. Bholan was bed-ridden, and the four children were in a dire condition.

SOS Children's Village Kavre came to know about the plight of Bholan and decided to help him out of this agony. Within the context of a Family Strengthening Programme, SOS Children's Villages supported him with money and made arrangements for his children's education.

Bholan left the village and went down to Dhulikhel, a small commercial place, where he started a small mobile grocery shop. "The sight of my kids going to school again gives me immense pleasure. Kids had to snap ties with school when I was bed-ridden and lost my wife, and I went into depression," says a relieved Bholan.

"It's amazing. Now I can walk again independently. I owe a great deal to SOS Children's Villages for this artificial leg and everything they did for me," says Bholan. SOS Children's Villages approached the Society for Welfare of the Disabled for an artificial leg for Bholan, and they readily agreed.

"There was nothing left in my life. I couldn't move. My wife was not there. Had it not been for the help by SOS Children's Villages, I couldn't feed my kids, nor pay school fees," Bholan says with his voice choking.

Bholan is now a very happy man. After sending his kids to school, he sits with his mobile shop in the market nearby trying to increase his income. SOS Children's Villages arranged for his two daughters to be admitted to a boarding school, and one daughter and a son are still living with their father.

SOS Children's Villages Nepal
P.O.Box 757
Kathmandu
Nepal

Tel +977/1/66 30 091, +977/1/66 30 391
Fax +977/1/66 30 191

e-mail: sosnepal@mos.com.np
http://www.sosnepal.org.np

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