Projects We Support
The Children’s Food Programme (Bal Bhojan)
SathSath Medical Clinic in Kathmandu
Mobile Food Unit (Mobile Bal Bhojan)
Bishram Drop In Centre in Kathmandu
Construction of Girls' Toilets
The Children’s Food Programme (Bal Bhojan)
This programme is one that the charity has been supporting for a number of years. It provides up to two free meals, as well as the opportunity for basic education, every day to street children in the crowded old quarter of Kathmandu.
The project is characterised by the following main points:
- it has a low cost, localised approach
- poor local widows are employed to cook the food
- the food is basic but nutritious
- there is access to lessons run by a qualified teacher
- the programme is supervised by a doctor
- the programme pays for the food, wages for the cook/s and teacher/s and the rent of the basic rooms for teaching
- the work of the programme is overseen by a committee of prominent community members
- The number of children having meals and attending lessons varies from day to day but is usually in the region of 50 – 60. This project is often the safety net that children turn to in times of greatest need.
SathSath medical clinic in Kathmandu
This clinic was opened to children in March 2008 and aims to provide 24 hour emergency, medical and hospital support, as well as in-house first aid and medication facilities to children living and working on the street. The initial costs of setting up the clinic including purchasing a van, beds, bedding and other furniture, medical supplies and first aid kits, was funded by nscglobal, a corporate supporter of The Street Children of Nepal Trust. We hope to be able to continue to support the clinic in the coming years and help them pay for on-going expenses including rent, electricity, water, wages and medical supplies.
The Street Children of Nepal Trust supports a number of ‘scholarship’ programmes which enable children from the poorest families, and those affected by trafficking and violence, attend primary school. In Nepal primary education is provided free but there are certain costs that families have to meet including uniforms, books, stationery supplies and enrolment fees. Unfortunately for the poorest families these costs can prove too much and children are excluded from gaining even the most basic skills in literacy and numeracy.
These ‘scholarship’ programmes enable children to attend school and helps them have access to self development opportunities that will help them, their families and communities in the future.
The programmes we are currently supporting help families in the Doti and Kapilvastu districts of Nepal.
This project is run by The Rural Women’s Development and Unity Centre (RUWDUC) which is involved in helping to improve the quality of life of women and children in the far west of Nepal, one of the poorest and most disadvantaged areas of the country. They work mainly in the areas of education, health and income generation.
The Children’s Home for Girls is a project that we have been supporting for some years. The Home provides 12 orphaned girls with improved living conditions, access to education and proper nutrition and healthcare. The costs in running the home include food, rent, clothes, electricity, water, medical care and wages for a warden and a cook / cleaner.
Mobile Food Unit (Mobile Bal Bhojan)
This is a project that we started supporting in 2008. A van operates on Saturdays each week and visits six different areas of Kathmandu where street children are known to congregate. The project distributes free food packets and water to as many needy children as possible - it is estimated that an average of 250 street children are helped each week.
The Centre was opened in 2001 to offer a lifeline to street children in Kathmandu. It provides a warm, safe environment with food and shelter, as well as education, training towards employment, counselling and access to medical care. The Street Children of Nepal Trust gave financial assistence to this very worthwhile project in both 2008 and 2009.
Unfortunately due to a lack of ongoing funding the Centre had to close its doors in early 2010.
Construction of Girls' Toilets
This project was for the construction of toilets specifically for female pupils at Tankaprasad - Rewantakumari School in the Nawalparasi District of Nepal. Research has shown that one of the main reasons that girls drop out of education when they reach puberty is the lack of proper toilet facilities which means that they have to share with male pupils. The Street Children of Nepal Trust donated full funding for this project in 2008/9.
In 2010 five of the girls who had been resident at the Children's Home for Girls (please see above) passed their School Leaving Certificate (SLC). This is an important milestone in a student's academic life and is normally taken at about age 16 (or earlier for the most able students). It however also marks the time when the girls can no longer carry on living at the Home and this can leave them in a vulnerable position as they may have no family to return to and unclear job propects.
In August 2010 The Street Children of Nepal Trust (SCON) agreed with RUWDUC, who runs the Girls' Home, that SCON would continue to support these five girls for a further two years to enable them to gain further qualifications and improve their job propects. It is hoped that SCON will be able to expand this project in the future to provide support for more girls from the Home as they leave school (and possibly also access to, and support through, higher education for the most capable).