The Crisis in Nepal

Civil war in Nepal has claimed more than twelve thousand lives over ten years; the devastating economic consequences have destroyed hundreds of thousands more in one of the poorest countries in the world.

In the remote regions of the country, Maoist rebels used intimidation and even murder to control villages and abduct children to force into the rebel army. The United Nations recently cited the crisis of Nepal’s children in the conflict zone as one of its 10 Stories the World Should Hear More About in 2006.

Child traffickers, preying on locals’ fears of Maoist abductions, deceive families living under these brutal conditions by promising their children safe haven at top boarding schools in the Kathmandu Valley, one of the few regions free from Maoist control. For this service they collect vast sums from already impoverished families. Once they have guardianship over the children and have removed them from the village, however, they dump the children in orphanages in Kathmandu, then cut off contact with the parents who live in remote mountainous regions accessible only by foot.

These children, who can be as young as three and four years old, effectively become orphans.


How Next Generation Nepal is helping

Next Generation Nepal rescues and provides care for trafficked and conflict-displaced Nepalese children. For the first time in years they have somebody to protect them.

But rescuing them is not enough. That's why the NGN team is searching remote mountain villages of Nepal on foot to find the families of trafficked children, families who had lost all hope of ever seeing their children again. We are working to reunite these children with their families, safely and responsibly. We have already found the families of over 300 children, and our seach for more continues.
 

Our Approach

Children's Homes:

The rescue of trafficked children from the streets and illegal children's homes in Kathmandu is just the first step in the process. The children require care  in a safe and stable home environment where they can attend school for the first time, and get medical attention while the search for their families and reconnection begins.  NGN provides an environment of safety and support for over 50 children in Kathmandu ensuring they are well cared for despite having been lost to their own parents.

We began with Dhaulagiri House, the children's home in Kathmandu funded by NGN and locally managed by the Umbrella Foundation.
In partnership with the French organization, Karya, NGN also runs Karnali House in Kathmandu, a home for 30 children. In April 2010, NGN is scheduled to open a transitional home for up to 25 children in the rural district of Humla returning them to their home district. This will bring them closer to their families and ease the reconnection process.

We are giving a future to the children of Nepal with three main Programs:

Reconnection Program

NGN Search Teams find families of trafficked children in remote regions of Nepal.

Why we do it:
• Without help, parents have little hope of ever finding their children once they have been taken and trafficked to Kathmandu.
• Children lost to their parents are at much higher risk for abuse, domestic slavery and sexual and exploitation.
• Children with living parents are being put up for adoption illegally by traffickers

Reunification Program

NGN Reunification Team returns trafficked children from Kathmandu to their families and rural communities when possible.

Why we do it:
• Children have the right to be raised in their own family whenever possible.
• Culture, traditions and native languages are lost when children are cut off from their families and communities.
• Stabilizing economic forces in a child’s life, such as inheritance of familial land and eventual marriage, can only occur when children are living in their own communities.
• Nepal society is over 90% agrarian; the future of the country depends on village development. The next generation of Nepali’s must be raised in their communities to learn agricultural and other village-centric skills.

Prevention Program

Working in collaboration with local and international partners, NGN seeks to stop child trafficking at its source by targeting the root causes. With improved educational, economic and health access in the rural villages, families will be less vulnerable to traffickers false promises of education, safety and a better life for their children in overcrowded and polluted urban centers.

Why we do it:
• Early data and experience points to the lack of educational opportunities in villages as one of the main reasons parents risk the lives of their children by sending them with child traffickers.
• By focusing on improving educational opportunities, NGN hopes to target one of the root causes of trafficking and give parents incentive to keep their children safe at home in their communities.
• Working to develop the village through education will give NGN a platform to raise awareness of the dangers of trafficking within the local community.