Projekt Kinderhaus Birthamod EN - Tara Namaste Foundation

Situation:

Our children’s house is located in Birtamod, in the Jhapa District, in south-eastern Nepal. It is a place rarely visited by tourists and where part of the population lives in extreme poverty. The children we assist currently live in a rented space where they grow up, eat, learn and play together. They are taught and cared for by women we hire, who are with them around the clock. In addition to food, clothing and other essentials, they also receive medical care as needed, and most of them are able to attend a private school in Birtamod free of charge. As far as we have been able to ascertain, all of the children are from the Jhapa region.

There are thousands of children living on the streets of Nepal. In many cases, their parents have died in traffic accidents or lost their lives in natural disasters or falls while working in the mountains. Other children are simply put onto the street in the hope that someone else will take them in, because their own poverty-stricken families are no longer able to feed them. As a result, the children’s house takes in new children every month, and we do our best with the space and financial resources we have to care for them for shorter or longer periods of time.

Tara Namaste’s objectives:

In 2019, we received generous donations of both land and funds that have allowed us to move the children into our own children’s house. Alongside continuing to finance our project, our next step in Birtamod is to expand our children’s house so that we can house and care for more children.

Schule

My volunteer assignment at Tara Namaste in Birtamod

I travelled to Nepal in October 2023. After volunteering in a hospital, I decided without further ado to volunteer in a children’s home for the last month. I came across Tara Namaste by chance. Lilo Veraguth, my contact person, was very straightforward and organised everything spontaneously. So I travelled to Birtamod in mid-November 2023. I will probably never forget the friendly welcome from Narayan Pokhrel at the airport and what followed….

I was warmly welcomed by the Pokhrel family and the children’s home. I felt at home from the beginning to the end. For the first few days, everyone behaved towards me as if I were a guest and I wasn’t allowed to help in the kitchen or with the cleaning. But more and more I was no longer a guest, I became a member of the family and belonged. And that’s how it still feels today to have found a family in Nepal.

I will never forget cooking together, everyday life with the children, playing, talking and laughing. From now on, I will always associate the game UNO with Tara Namaste.

The Tara Namaste children’s home is a wonderful place, it is run in an exemplary manner and offers children a home with lots of love and respect. Each child is allowed to attend a private school and develop individually. Everything is very clean and Durga’s food is fantastic. The children sleep in rooms of 2 or 3, girls and boys are separated. This means that each child has their own space and can withdraw.

I have learnt a lot about life and about myself, plus I can now cook Nepalese food, although I certainly won’t miss dal bhat. 😉

Every cent donated makes a big difference and is a good contribution in such a poor part of eastern Nepal.

I have great respect for Nayaran, his daughter Yasoda and Durga, what they do every day is simply amazing!

Many thanks to Tara Namaste Foundation for giving me this opportunity. I will always keep this in my heart. One day I will return to Nepal, to Birtamod, to Tara Namaste.

Nadine Zihlmann in February 2024