Hope for Children, an international children’s charity based in Hemel Hempstead, has stepped in to rescue education-based projects in Nepal.
The charity’s swift actions mean that three projects will not close their doors to thousands of vulnerable children and community members.
Since the collapse of the projects’ UK-based main funder – Childreach International – in January 2018, Hope for Children’s senior leadership has been working closely with the independent Nepali partner who runs the projects – Childreach Nepal – to find a solution.
This month, Hope for Children confirmed new funding had been secured to ensure three projects improving the lives of 792 vulnerable children, and over 6,000 community members in rural Nepal in the districts of Sindupalchok, Dolakha, Kavre and Bhaktapur, and will continue to run until at least December 2020.
This is the first time in its 24-year history that Hope for Children will have an impact in Nepal, where over 25 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the Asian Development Bank.
This situation worsened in 2015 following a series of devastating earthquakes, which killed 9,000 people and left thousands of children exposed to the increased threat of human trafficking.
The projects that have been saved focus on 3 key areas closely aligned with Hope for Children’s charitable objectives: reducing dropout rates of girls at school, raising awareness of reproductive health issues, and early childhood development for vulnerable children under 5 years of age.
Murielle Maupoint, CEO, Hope for Children said she was delighted.
She commented: “We are thrilled to announce that Hope for Children will be expanding our positive impact into Nepal this year. We were incredibly saddened to hear that Childreach International had gone into administration, and our thoughts turned immediately to the children and communities that would be directly affected. They have endured such hardship in recent years so to be able to bring new hope into their lives is incredibly rewarding.”
Urgen Lama, Head of Programmes, Communications and Partnership, Childreach Nepal agreed.
She added: “The Childreach Nepal team are very happy to be entering this new phase of programmatic partnership with support from Hope for Children. Our two organisations are closely aligned through their missions, visions and values, and we are confident that this will be a positive relationship through which both organisations will extend their reach to benefit many more children and young people in Nepal”.
Murielle Maupoint will travel to Nepal later this month to learn more about the impact of these projects, and meet the frontline staff who work at the grassroots level.
The charity is also working to urgently secure funding to other projects in India and Tanzania. If you are interested in supporting these projects, please get in touch with Hope for Children at hope@hope4c.org or 01442 234561.
0 Comments