one manage to reach grade five, over half of these children leave school before entering lower secondary school( grade eight) level.
“ Education is the movement from darkness to light”—
Allan Bloom
To realise her vision Charu’ s first task was to find a location that offered what she felt these children needed, she set her sights on land away from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, she wanted somewhere that could provide a more serene and healthy environment, it was decided that Panauti would be that place. The challenges were constant, Charu said that when she felt at her lowest ebb, she thought of her own children and how much she loved, protected and worked to give them a better future; who was going to do this for the children she had seen during that impactful visit to the orphanage with her daughter?
The list was endless, financial donors had to be found, close ties with local workers and volunteers had to be forged, staff had to be located, buildings constructed, equipment procured, but Charu and her team worked tirelessly and after many years of hard work, ECO Home finally opened its doors.
The first children to enter ECO Home were three small children from Far Eastern Nepal. ECO Home now hosts 25 happy children. Once a child enters ECO Home, their day becomes like that of any other child;
• They are woken at 6am, brush teeth, shower and get dressed
• Tidy their rooms and get their school bags ready
• Breakfast is eaten, tiffin boxes collected and off to school( approximately 10 minutes walk away)
• School finishes at 4pm, back to Eco Home, wash up, change out of uniform and complete chores
• Afternoon lunch and tea is served, games and activity recess( football, badminton, chess etc.)
• Two hours of tutoring time, each child has individual help with his or her homework
• Dinner is served, and children then relax and can watch TV( allocated timings)
• Lights out for at 8:30pm, so that they are bright and eager for the next day
• Weekends are free time, involving extra-curricular trips and educational activities
The Eco Home works closely with the village development committee, local police and district head office to make sure that any child entering the ECO Home are real orphans, and not“ paper orphans” and only after the necessary official documentation has been received do these children commence with the process of becoming an ECO Home child. All 25 children staying at ECO Home come from extremely poor economic backgrounds, they are four years old or above and their parents have been confirmed missing or dead. The UN’ s child agency, UNICEF after a recent investigation, discovered the shocking fact that 85 per cent of children in the Nepal orphanages they visited had at least one living parent.
Recent natural disasters and the devastation left in their wake have also contributed to this growing problem, many“ orphans” may not actually be orphans and are simply children who have become separated from their families, collected in good faith by volunteers who want to help but sadly cause more harm in the long run.
This phenomenon has become known as the“ rescue” mentality, and even more disturbingly has allowed the practice of exploitative orphanage operators, who trade in children under the guise of the money-making business of‘ Voluntourism’.
At Eco Home, the focus is not on fostering or securing an adoption for the children, but more to provide family values, a sense of support, a bright future and pride in being Nepalese. The knowledge that having the security and safety of a family environment is already within reach in their own home country.
Volunteers are encouraged to become actively involved in two ways; either directly with the children as paying volunteers( all proceeds raised go directly to the welfare of the children staying in ECO Home) or perhaps assisting the Eco team in their various fund raising and on-going community projects www. society. qa 25