Names have been changed in the story to protect the privacy of those involved.

February 20, 2012: Imagine a complete stranger telling you that your adopted daughter, who you always believed was an orphan, was actually not. “Surreal and heart wrenching” is how Ana would describe it.

In early 2004, a Spanish woman named Ana wanted to adopt a Nepalese child. Nepal was still in an armed conflict and she was told that many children were losing their parents. She arranged a meeting with a representative at the Consulate of Nepal in Spain to find out more information. Ana was given the contact information for an orphanage in Nepal and started the complex process necessary to adopt a child.

After about one year, the adoption became official and Ana, overcome with joy, traveled to the orphanage in Kathmandu to meet her new daughter and bring her home to Spain. The orphanage had arranged for Ana to adopt Sunitha, a six-year-old girl with a personality that enchanted Ana from the beginning. As months passed, Sunitha quickly learned Spanish and slowly began assimilating to Spanish culture. “Sunitha was becoming a Spaniard, but I also wanted her to be aware of her Nepalese heritage. I did not want Sunitha to forget her origins,” said Ana.

In February 2011, Next Generation Nepal’s (NGN) Country Director, Julien Lovera received a tip that there was an orphanage operating in Kathmandu involved in illegal adoptions and abuse. NGN supported Government of Nepal authorities as they closed down the home and rescued the 20 children found there, children who had recently watched two of their peers die from beatings, starvation, and neglect. The “orphanage” was actually part of a child trafficking racket that forged documents declaring children were orphans; and illegally adopted some of them away.

NGN took the children into their transitional home and 14 have since been reunited with their families. During initial conversations with the children, one of the girls, Bindu, told a devastating story to NGN’s reintegration managers. In a frightened tone, Bindu expressed that her sister, Sunitha, had been given to a Spanish woman in 2005.

After hearing this alarming news, Lovera and NGN’s reintegration team obtained Ana’s information and contacted her to deliver the shocking news: Her adopted daughter was not an orphan. In fact, Sunitha had a living biological mother, sister, and brother. Ana was understandably shaken and very confused about this news. She explained the news she had received to Sunitha, and after a period of processing, they decided that they would like to reconnect with the biological family.

“This is a very difficult story to describe,” stated Ana. “Caring for Sunitha as she continues to develop despite so much emotional trauma has been very inspirational and difficult for me. She has demonstrated so much strength to be willing to reconnect with her biological family. I think that reconnecting will be a very positive step for us. It is impossible to say that with certainty, but I believe that reconnection is healthy and important.”

Sunitha’s biological mother, Kanchan, has expressed that she wants to remain connected to both Ana and Sunitha through letters and phone calls. Kanchan is happy that Sunitha is in a home full of love and she does not harbor any ill will towards Ana, nor does she want Sunitha to experience further emotional distress. She does, however, feel betrayed by the director of the orphanage. “I brought my daughter to what I thought was a children’s home so that she could be temporarily provided for while I worked to improve my financial situation,” stated Kanchan. “I was deceived by the children’s home, Ana was deceived, and of course Sunitha was deceived. After all that has happened, I just want to maintain a connection with Sunitha and her new family. I do not want Sunitha to suffer any more.”

Editor’s Note
Many of the children in Nepal’s “orphanages” are there because traffickers (who are sometimes relatives) deceive parents in remote villages into allowing them to take their kids to “elite educational facilities” that are actually centers for child exploitation. In fewer instances, impoverished Nepalese parents make desperate decisions to take their children themselves to children’s homes under the assumption that they will at least have a chance at an education and a successful life. However, these parents do not think the homes’ managers would ever send their children overseas through adoption. They assume that children’s homes will care for their kids until they enter college and can work on their own.

According to The U.S. State Department website, the United States “continues to strongly recommend that prospective adoptive parents refrain from adopting children from Nepal due to grave concerns about the reliability of Nepal’s adoption system and credible reports that children have been stolen from birth parents, who did not intend to irrevocably relinquish parental rights as required by INA 101(b)(1)(F). We also strongly urge adoption service providers not to accept new applications for adoption from Nepal.” To read more about the US State Department's guidelines on adoptions from Nepal click here.

Names have been changed in the story to protect the privacy of those involved.

February 9, 2012: During a recent walk near the Karnali Home in Kathmandu, Shruti ran ahead of the other children, making a beeline for the tallest hill in sight. “Up there!” she exclaimed, pointing to the top. “Let’s go.”  

Shruti, with one of her many climbing partners, off to conquer a hill in Kathmandu.

Gripping the hand of her climbing partner, she pulled herself up over ridge after ridge, pausing at the end of each mini-ascent to catch her breath and reset her face in determination. “Let’s go!” she said again, a giant smile spreading across her face.

Shruti likes to climb mountains. It’s a fitting hobby for a girl who has had to learn to repeatedly overcome obstacles throughout her life. After being abandoned by her mother at the young age of two, Shruti wound up in an abusive children’s home in Kathmandu, where the manager exploited and mistreated kids. She lived there, in squalid conditions, for nearly seven long years.

In February 2011, however, officials from the Government of Nepal succeeded in shutting the home down. Shruti (along with the 19 other children living there) was rescued and brought to live at Karnali Home by Next Generation Nepal staff members.

Shruti adapted easily to life at Karnali Home and quickly became known for her “laughing attacks” and generosity toward others, sharing her belongings and friendship freely. She also became known for her fierce self-reliance. Having never known her family, Shruti was accustomed to counting only on herself.

Recently, though, Shruti received a visit from a man who hopes to change that. After several months of searching remote mountain areas with very few clues about Shruti’s family, NGN’s reintegration managers finally succeeded in finding members of her family. It took them three separate trips before they located Shruti’s village in November 2011. Going mainly on word of mouth and facial recognition, the odds stacked against NGN’s reintegration managers would have aptly been described as “one in a billion”.

But their perseverance paid off, and a few weeks ago Shruti’s uncle traveled for three days from her native village to Kathmandu to visit Shruti and deliver the good news that she has a family who is alive and wants to be a part of her life.

Shruti’s uncle brought her chocolate (which, in keeping with her nature, she quickly distributed to the other children at Karnali Home) and told her things about her village. She was delighted to find out that it is a place teeming with sugarcane plants and apple trees. In return, Shruti gave her uncle some of her biggest smiles to date and spent two hours with him, talking, laughing and looking at pictures of her family members.

Shruti with her uncle on her left and NGN Reintegration Manager Sandup Lama on her right.

A miraculous reunion, it was the first time in her life that Shruti can remember meeting a member of her family. None of the NGN staff members present for this joyous meeting will ever forget how pure Shruti’s laughter was that day.

For now, Shruti is looking forward to the next school holiday, when NGN’s reintegration managers will accompany her on a trip to her village where she will meet other family members and spend time getting to know them. Her reconnection to her family against all odds is truly an amazing story that perfectly reflects our philosophy at NGN to never give up.

Stay tuned for more of Shruti's story to come!

Editor's Note:

NGN’s reintegration managers are still searching for Shruti’s parents and maintain weekly contact with her family members. According to them, Shruti’s father is working in the Middle East. The location of her mother is still unknown. Reconnecting a child to their family is the first of many steps our reintegration managers take in the process of permanent reunification. Click here to read more about our approach.

Names have been changed in the story to protect the privacy of those involved.

September 9, 2011: Hidden in many illegal or sub-standard orphanages in the Kathmandu Valley are thousands of heartbreaking tales of child abuse, neglect, prostitution, illegal adoption, forced labor and organized panhandling schemes. But for Archana and Balaji, two rescued children NGN reunited with their father Manish in August, “home sweet home” does not even begin to describe their joy of being back home. The reunification brought renewed hope for everyone, and Manish is motivated to do everything possible to keep his children safe, healthy, and happy.

With NGN’s help, Balaji and Archana headed home with Manish a month ago.

NGN’s Nancy Wong had a chance to speak with Manish with the help of reintegration manager Gyala Lama to learn about this heartwarming story.

Nancy: Manish, please share your story with us.

Manish: The economic conditions in my village were not good, so I moved our family to the Kathmandu Valley. But the children’s mother ended up in jail, and I was working as a servant so I was not able to properly care for the children. I sent Archana and Balaji to an orphanage because I thought they would be better off there than with me. Little did I know, Geeta (the woman running the orphanage) would make a business out of it.

N: Many other people also mistakenly think that life is better in a children’s home even though it is the opposite of the truth. When did you find out there was something wrong with Geeta’s orphanage?

M: I guess I was ignorant about the conditions before the rescue. I used to go to the orphanage to pick up my kids for their long holidays but I was never allowed in the rooms of the house. I only realized how horrible things really were after Archana and Balaji was rescued and NGN found me.

N: Did you miss your children when they were away from home?

M: Of course I missed them! I felt very sad. But beyond missing them, I convinced myself that it was for the better. I used to hear all these stories about children growing up in orphanages – well fed and properly educated. I really had no choice but to send them away because we were struggling financially. I had to work, and their mother was not around to take care of them. I just had no choice.

N: That is very difficult. Are you happy to have Archana and Balaji back?

M: Absolutely (said with the largest, brightest smile, looking lovingly at Archana and Balaji who were marching a toy sheep and a toy lion across the bed)! I am very happy to have them back. I will educate them and care for them with any means possible.

N: How wonderful! How has your life changed after the reunification?

M: I used to always worry about them, not knowing exactly what is happening with them. Now I am happy that they are safe and secure with me. I also separated from my wife because she is not a good influence on the children and doesn’t properly care for them. It is difficult working so hard every day, taking care of them, and sending them to school, but I am doing it from my heart. It is not a burden at all. Also, I used to drink a lot, but for my kids I gave up drinking two months ago, and haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since. I want to be a good father. I will work hard for my children, to give them a happy life.

N: That is amazing. Do you have any special plans for the upcoming Dasain festival now that the family is back together again?

M: I will try but I have no special plans because money is tight for us. I don’t want to make promises that I may not be able to deliver and disappoint the kids. The most important thing is to do what I can to make them happy.

N: You have each other, and that really matters so much. Do you have any special messages for other parents about child trafficking?

M: Please do not send your children to orphanages. More than half of them use your children to make a profit, just like a business. It is like throwing a stone into the darkness with no target, not knowing what will happen to the kids. Children are the most happy with their parents. I also want to thank NGN for saving my children. I am so happy to have my whole family back together again.

Manish, the proud and motivated father, with his children. Archana (left) and Balaji (right) are also very happy to be home.

Names have been changed in the story to protect the privacy of those involved.

August 23, 2011: Despite thousands of trafficked children in Nepal, general awareness on the issue is still lacking, especially internationally. NGN was invited to shed light on the issue by Al Jazeera English for a report on child trafficking and illegal international adoption.

101 East is Al Jazeera's weekly Asian current affairs program. With special reports on topics such as Korean mail-order brides and Chinese animal activism, 101 East tackles the issues that unify and divide Asia. The crew came to NGN’s Karnali 1 home in Kathmandu and found out for themselves what child trafficking means to these children.


Farid and Santosh being interviewed for 101 East in the classroom at the Karnali 1 home

Santosh, who was trafficked from the Humla region when he was around 9 or 10, had a chance to tell his story on camera. He has been under NGN’s care since 2004. Believing education was the only way out of poverty, his parents paid a large sum of money to a person later known as a trafficker to send him to school in Kathmandu.

But Santosh was not sent to school. He was locked up in terrible conditions for a year and a half. He was frequently starving for days. He had to panhandle for the trafficker. He witnessed his friends (other trafficked children) disappearing. He was even sold to a hotel as a child servant, spending his days all alone serving tea, doing dishes and cleaning rooms.

Once Santosh was rescued, he was finally able to recover physically, receive the affection any child deserves and continue his childhood where it had left off. NGN found Santosh’s family in a remote village of Humla, seven days south of Simikot on foot. He went back to his village several times. He even took the initiative to start a library project for the village with his older brother. He is now studying hard at school so he can make a positive impact on his community. NGN is determined to help him bring the change that Humla desperately needs. When the producer concluded the interview by asking him what he wanted to be when he grows up, Santosh eloquently explained his passion to become a social worker. He wants to make a difference, to give back and help improve the lives of the less fortunate ones.

Country Director Farid Ait-Mansour also discussed NGN’s views on child trafficking. Farid outlined the organization’s role in Nepal and its mission to reconnect trafficked children with their families. He stressed the importance of reunification. Trafficked children are stripped of the childhoods and their rights to a normal home life. They are often victims of further child abuse and suffer from psycho-social trauma that put their future at risk.

Raising awareness on child trafficking and its consequences through the media is one of NGN’s tasks in addition to its reunification programs. Tourists or volunteers can unwittingly facilitate the trafficking of children in Nepal by supporting children on the streets or in illegal orphanages, creating a lucrative business opportunities for people with ill intentions. An increase in awareness can also prevent parents in remote regions from trusting traffickers and sending their children to the Kathmandu Valley in hopes of a better life through education.

Stay tuned for 101 East’s special report on child trafficking in Nepal to be broadcasted on September 22, 2011 on Al Jazeera English. It will also be available online at: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/

Sushila and Arjun at the NGN Karnali Home 1 in Kathmandu

Names have been changed in the story to protect the privacy of those involved.

August 22, 2011: Sushila and Arjun will sleep soundly in their father’s home tonight for the first time since 2002.

The young brother and sister are among 20 children who had been rescued from an illegal orphanage in Mukti, Nepal, and under NGN’s care since March of this year. This afternoon, their father came to our Karnali Home 1 in Kathmandu to pick them up. After a lot of celebratory tikka on their foreheads and many well-wishes from all the staff and children, the three headed home to eastern Nepal with bright smiles on their faces.

Sushila and Arjun are an energetic and affectionate set of siblings. Sushila is best known for her infectious laughter, hugs and Bollywood-style dancing. Arjun enjoys a good “rice sack race” and makes solid attempts at break-dancing with the other boys at the Karnali home.

Their journey to reunification didn’t come easy.

Sushila and Arjun were beaten and starved in an illegal orphanage prior to their rescue in March. When they arrived at NGN, we were not able to gather much information on their background or history as they had been separated from their family at a very early age, so there was only minimal hope for reconnection.

But, in July, our diligent and persistent Reintegration Project Managers trekked to remote mountains in eastern Nepal, refusing to give up on any leads. We found their father at the very last village we visited! What a gift for the children, and a rewarding moment for our team when the father got to hear the excited voices of his long-lost children on the phone for the first time in years. The team is still searching for Sushila and Arjun’s mother, who separated from her husband nine years ago.
 

Sushila, Arjun and their father with NGN Reintegration Project Manager Samjyor Lama, moments before their journey home

Our Reintegration Project Managers will continue to carefully monitor the reintegration progress after the children return home. This marks another achievement for NGN on our mission to reconnect trafficked children with their families, provides significant motivation for our team and reminds everyone that miracles do happen.