The chairman of the Foundation Mr Henk Hooghuis, social worker, is married to the Nepalese singer Bimala Shrestha, who is originally from Dharan. Together, they decided to do something for the orphans and street children in Dharan and the surrounding area. This resulted in the formation of the Foundation in November 1998.
Initially, street children were housed in a hired house. A Dutch donor committed to sponsoring this. It seemed difficult to organize local support. It was decided that the foundation would try to support orphans and street children. By making use of Bimala’s reputation, the Foundation was quickly able to assemble support for initiatives involving blind children, street children and orphans.
In 1999 the Saraswati house asked the foundation for assistance. Around 24 orphans from the surrounding region were supported there by a local Board. The care was minimal and the children regularly had to beg for resources at the nearby temples. The housing was also inadequate. Together with the local managers, a new house was built in 2000, of which the Foundation was able to finance the basement, toiletfacilities and the inventory, thanks to generous donations from individual sponsors.
Another small, local project supported by the Foundation is the Dechen Choling Gomba in Dharan, a small Buddhist monastery where around 10 orphans are taken care of. The support provided here was in addition to what the local community already provided and was necessary to guarantee continuity in the care provided. The children now receive English lessons and computer lessons, in addition to the traditional lama-studies.
We rapidly realized that material support was not the only thing needed. Besides food and primary care, the children also needed to be given the opportunity for a better future. In the Netherlands we therefore collected funds to provide English lessons, computer lessons and vocational training. This kind of support is extremely important, given the deficiency as a result of the children’s background.
In 2002 the Helpless Children Welfare Mission asked us to support their orphanage in Itahari. This orphanage, with around 45 children, including some with polio, was in poor condition and far too small for the number of children there. In addition, there were insufficient funds for good care and education. Together with the local managers, the building was fixed so that it was no longer dangerous for the children living there.
With the help of sponsors in the Netherlands, under the oversight of a Dutch architect (affiliated to the society De Civiel Ingenieur), and together with a lot of local support, the building of the New Children’s Home began in May 2004. In June 2005, the building was put into use and most of the children in Itahari will move there. The children are home-schooled and looked after by a homemother and guard. After the move, the house in Itahari will have to be further renovated.
In July 2004, an NGO was set up in Dharan with the responsibility of supporting orphanages: The Society for Helpless children. A project agreement set out the details for cooperation between the Nepalese NGO and the Dutch Foundation.
