Commerical Orphanages vs. Residential Villages in Nepal

“Since international adoption from Nepal became legal in 1976, there was a huge increase in the number of both registered and unregistered childcare facilities as well as an increase in incidents of trafficking, false documentation and bribery. This led to the temporary suspension of adoption from Nepal in 2007 by the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare.

But by January 2009, the self-imposed ban was lifted, resulting in an even more disturbing situation.

Inside a small orphanage on the outskirts of Kathmandu live dozens of ‘orphaned’ children. Younger children lie in small rooms tied to cribs, with the door shut, screaming, in desperate need of a diaper change. Older children stand barefoot outside as they wait for the small amount of food they are allotted each day.

Sadly, this is an all too common scene in Kathmandu. Organisations like UNICEF and Terre Des Hommes Foundation estimate that more than 15,000 Nepali children live in residential care facilities, but no one knows how the children are treated because the shelters are rarely monitored. Shockingly, more than half of the children in the ‘orphanages’ actually have biological parents.”

Poverty as reason for placing in orphanage

“Inside the same orphanage, a 15-year old girl nervously confesses having living parents and two younger brothers. “I want to go home,” she whispers in English as her biological younger brother climbs onto her lap. Her parents voluntarily gave their children to shelters in the city because they couldn’t afford to feed and educate them. In many cases parents are promised their children’s safe return following the completion of their education, but many never see their children again because they are sold to foreign adoptive parents. ”

Residential Village Solution

“SOS facilities are based on a family structure with on-campus schooling, extra curricular activities, and family style housing with 10 children living in each of 14 homes with a single “house mother”. SOS ethos also includes a unique integration program that helps children learn how to live on their own while still benefiting from the SOS infrastructure and support. No SOS facility offers children internationally or domestically for adoption, expect by extended family members of the children.

In stark contrast to commercial ‘orphanages’ in Kathmandu, children can be seen at all hours of the day singing in classrooms, playing football outside, eating healthy snacks, and helping to care for their new brothers and sisters. Perhaps such facilities provide a glimmer of hope in the face of uncertainty for the future of adoption in Nepal. “We create a sense of belonging, children have lost their lives and here they can feel important and valid and like they belong,” says Khagendra Nepal of the Sano Thimi SOS Children’s Village. www.sosnepal.org.np  ”

Children trapped between supply and demand
[Nepali Times 6/17/11 by Jennifer Lowe]

This article links to some previous informative investigations:

On sale, A NEPALI TIMES INVESTIGATION
Adopting new safeguards
Cinderella children, PHILIP HOLMES

For more Nepal articles, check out our Nepal archive.

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