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