Protect & Inspire Street Connected Children, Nepal

We would like to share with you a success story of one of our beneficiaries, whose life has been transformed by his stay at our shelter.

Bijay (not his real name) was just 11 years old when he was identified by Kidasha’s outreach workers. His mother had passed away and his father had disappeared. He was surviving on the streets of Pokhara by begging, collecting scrap and committing petty crime to buy food. He was involved with a street gang and started sniffing glue to numb his pain and hunger. When approached he was initially hesitant. Outreach workers took a gentle but caring approach and continued to check in on him. Over time his trust increased and he moved into our rehabilitation centre.

At first, he struggled to settle, running away several times and falling back into bad habits. Over time Bijay gradually adjusted and started to go to a school, while social workers searched for his family. However, when he saw other children go to their families on weekends and to celebrate holidays and festivals, he increasingly struggled with feelings of abandonment. After months of searching, an uncle was found, and after a number of relationship-building visits with Bijay, his uncle agreed to become his legal guardian and give him a home. Bijay is now 14 and Kidasha continues to support his school costs and provide a stipend towards food. He feels much more positive about his future and is keen to catch up academically with his peers at school.

While some children continue to run away or are abandoned by their families and end up the street, the success of our rehabilitation services means that they now benefit from earlier intervention/removal and there are now almost no children living permanently on the streets in Pokhara. Furthermore, our rehabilitation centre is the only formally recognised temporary protection centre in Gandaki Province. As such it has started to receive some federal government funding and also received excellent feedback following a visit from the Ministry of Women and Children.

None of this would have been possible without your generosity and for which we are truly grateful.

With many thanks

The Kidasha Team