The Home was set up in 1997 by Mrs Durga Mainali; and it is an entirely non-political, humanitarian social organization. Durga decided to found the home after making the life changing decision to take in a baby she saw crying on the street. Because of the strict and heavily family oriented traditions of Nepalese society; hundreds of children are thrown every day into a merciless world with very little hope for a future. This is what, above all else, the Home provides. Hope. It takes in children, making sure to follow legal procedures, and raises them, cares for them, and helps set them up for a future that would be otherwise outside of their reach.
The children I met had been in gangs, left in fields, put in prison for their parents' crimes, forced to work under age and tied up in temples for begging. There were and are so many more stories along similar lines, but they were, I can honestly say, some of the most incredible people I've ever met. The home has managed, with the help of a few generous sponsors, to send the kids to school, but every day they walk past dozens of shops full of things they can never have. I know this, I walked the road myself when asked to come meet their friends (possible commandeering of the playground ensued..) Still, they are the kindest, most well mannered children I'd ever met. Entirely without bitterness, or anger, or hostility, they all care for one another, and quite happily accepted me into their family.
I write this not because I want to be considered a good Samaritan, or even, following the original intention of my stay, to encourage others to go and do what I did and intend to do again. I write this to anybody and everybody, who would consider helping in any way they can; whether that's by donating money (Mrs Mainali asks for 101 Nepali Rupees a month, that's less than a British pound), clothes, shoes, toys, rice...really, anything would be greatly appreciated. So the following letter is written pleading for anything, from myself, for my brothers and sisters. Please help them.
Dear Whomsoever It May Concern,
My name is Gabrielle. For one week, I had the privilege of helping out at the Buddhist Child Home in Jorpati, Kathmandu. I've seen the work done there, and I've known the children. The whole setup has come into being on account of a society restricted by tradition and corrupted by opportunists seeking to manipulate such stigma for personal gain.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of room for both tradition and opportunists, doubtless: but when these combined and potentially subversive factors result in abused children, starving children, imprisoned children, dying children...One has to ask where exactly and to what end any 'opportunity' exists, and question the validity and relevance of traditions that are throttling their own society by poisoning the lifeblood of its future.
There are people, dozens, who need to wake up and realize that if nothing else: if not being simply innocent, helpless, talented, kind and human; these children are the hands in which Nepal's future lies. And it is your decision, should such matters concern you, as to whether these hands will be emaciated, diseased and bloody, or capable, healthy and gentle.
Of course, change cannot happen easily: certainly not the sort of change required to overhaul and undermine the misguided present reliance on generations of invalid tradition. But change can happen. It already is happening, right now. The children in the Buddhist Child Home aren't surly, violent, rude or filthy. They're clean and confident and ready to burst back into their society, if only you'll give them a nudge in the right direction. If only the city, the country and the world will open their eyes and see the most valuable resource on offer today. The next generation.
This is not the sort of opportunity you should dismiss, or wait for someone else to find and deal with. How often do people, in the Western world at least, complain of words and not actions? Corrupted charity? Free pens that could have been water supplies? There's a chance; right now to change that.
These children were abandoned, for whatever reason, by their families: their only lifeline in the ever-more tumultuous ocean that is the world today. When that happened, they were thrown violently into life and society, and like it or not, they became our responsibility and our concern.
These children are not a burden, they're people, and good ones if you'll give them a chance. Why, after all, in a world maniacally preoccupied with saving what little reserves we have left, are we throwing away so carelessly one of our best 'materials' in the struggle for a healthy, just and equal global community? Human beings are our own best chance, and these children can be anything and anyone if only you'll let them. Think Van Gogh, Michelangelo, J.K.Rowling, Alan Sugar, Aristotle; and don't be the fool that turned them away.
This is the world's concern now, so please, step up, and see the miracle waiting just over the mountains.
If you have my contact details, please feel free to get in touch to find out how you can help. It not, please visit www.buddhistchildhome.org.np to find out more about how to help. Don't let them continue to 'crying in their hearts'. Thank you.
'The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep' - Robert Frost.
