In 2014 I stayed at this wonderful orphanage run by Sushila and her husband Hira located in Sauraha, Chitwan National Park in Nepal. I really fell in love with Nepal after a hiking trip through the Himalaya mountains and decided to return and work with kids for a while. Via Work Away i found Sushila and as soon as I arrived I had a very good feeling about this place, it really felt like coming home. Sushila and her family have such a warm and simple way of life, very connected, playful and caring and I’ve spend some of my best days staying with them and hanging out with the kids. I talked with Sushila about what her future dreams were for the orphanage and she said she wanted to create a place to stay for volunteers. So we converted their apartment close by to a cute place to rent out, together with the kids who helped paint the walls. Also have I helped raise money at the time to build a new part of the orphanage.

Located in Chitwan National Park, a very beautiful part of Nepal with a lot of wildlife and the occasional rhinos or elephants passing by. The children at the orphanage (9 at the moment) mostly come from poor mountain villages or have been through really bad living conditions. When staying with Sushila and her family I noticed how extremely dedicated they are to the orphanage and how hard they work to make a beautiful home for the kids. Tending to their big vegetable garden, having dance nights, sitting by the fire in the evenings having their meals and telling stories to each other.

The children are between ages 4 and 18 and have found refuge in this safe home. They are learning how to make a successful life for themselves by attending school, studying together after class, cooking for the group, maintaining a tidy living space, playing games and sports, and learning about ways to better care for the environment they live in. 

Recently Sushila has written me that she has been visited by a government employee from the National child right council to check on some things and look through her documents. After seeing the documents they gave some suggestions and told Sushila the financial condition is very poor and needs to improve otherwise they will have to close the orphanage and the children would have to return to where they came from. This would really break my heart as it is such a wonderful place! Also will she have to make some upgrades and take in more children and employees to keep the orphanage running. Below is a little overview on the Monthly costs at the moment. 

Here is what is needed per Month per Child in Nepalese Rupees (Euro):

Food: 2500 (€ 17)

School fee and Materials: 1600 (€ 11)

Health and Care: 600 (€ 4)

Total 9 children: 42.300 (€ 290)

And the Monthly costs of the orphanage:

Electricity: 1800 (€ 12)

Internet: 1525 (€ 10)

Water: 995 (€ 7)

Repairs: 1000 (€ 7)

Transportation: 890 (€ 6)

Total: 6210 (€ 43)

Total per Month: 48.510 (€ 333)

Total per Year: 582.120 (€ 3996)

If you would like more information before donating, feel free to write me! You can also choose to become a regular donor and help one of the kids. There is also more info on their website, but this is a made by a past volunteer and somewhat outdated, same for the video below! Their facebook page is updated a lot more frequently and Sushila shares a lot of information, photos, videos etc. 

https://nscpc.weebly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NSCPC.Nepal

Thank you in advance and lots of love! <3

Iekeliene Stange