Kathmandu, Nepal –, It is 6 a.m. in Kavresthali, a small village nearly 10 kilometres north from the city centre and 16-year-old Ranjita Bhandari has been up for over an hour. She is dressed in her school uniform, –, neat blue shirt with a navy blue pullover, a striped tie, a pleated navy blue skirt, black leggings and polished black shoes. She has tied her long thick hair away form her face. She is standing nervously outside her house, a small hut made of tin and tarpaulin. SLC under TLC Ranjita Bhandari (right), 16, is seen with her mother and sister outside…

Salyantar, Dhading, 3 June 2015, : Anjali Darain sits quietly in a dark classroom of Jana Jyoti Lower Secondary School in Salyantar Village Development Committee in Dhading district, more than 100 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu. That classroom is one of the few still left standing after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April and subsequent aftershocks, including a…

Sindhupalchowk, Nepal –, The 2015 Gorkha earthquake destroyed the BP Adarsha Primary School located in Sunkoshi of Sindhupalchowk District. For five months thereafter, students were forced to study under the shade of a tree. The school accommodates 20 students studying in grades 1-4. With support from local organizations, the school built a temporary bamboo structure to…

Bhaktapur, Nepal –, A small mock shop is set up in the middle of a classroom. A small table serves as the counter and on it are a garlic bulb, a tomato, a potato, an onion, and a piece of ginger. On one side of the table sits the ‘customer’, and on the other the ‘shopkeeper.’ “How much is the garlic?” the customer – a young boy, asks in English. “20 rupees,” the…

What is orphanage voluntourism?, 'Orphanage voluntourism’ includes activities that support orphanages by individuals who are primarily, or were initially, tourists on vacation. Usually the tourist wishes to include a social element in their vacation by volunteering their time. In some cases they also provide financial or material support to the orphanage., Are the children in orphanages actually orphans ?, Prior to the Nepal earthquake approximately 16,000 children resided at orphanages in Nepal.1 It has been estimated that up to 85% of children in orphanages in Nepal have at least one living parent.2, How can orphanage volunteering be harmful ?, In some cases children are deliberately separated from their families and placed in orphanages so they can be used to attract fee-paying volunteers and donors. In some cases, children are also kept in poor conditions. Further, while orphanage volun-teers are generally well-intentioned they often do not realize they could inadvertently cause harm…, Why is there greater risk following the 2015 Earthquake ?, The trend of sending children to orphanages in Kathmandu began following the civil war with promises of safety and education. There is concern that the earthquake will accelerate a similar trend and children will be separated from their families. UNICEF and NGOs are working with the Government of Nepal to stop the flow of children away from their…, What are the risks to children of residing in orphanages ?, It has long been established that it is better for a child to grow up in a family environment and children should only be institu-tionalized as a last resort. When children grow up in orphanages they are at risk of physical, mental and sexual abuse. They may also experience attachment disorders later in life and find it hard to develop healthy…, What is the solution for children that are genuine orphans ?, As organizations like Next Generation Nepal and The Umbrella Foundation have shown, genuine orphans can be successfully reunified with extended family members such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins or older brothers and sisters. Keeping children with a family is also preferential to growing up in an orphanage., How can you help children in Nepal ?, UNICEF and its collaborators urges those wanting to volunteer with children, that are not qualified professionals, to reconsider. To help children in Nepal recover from the earthquake donate funds to reputable relief and development agencies, which re-build damaged rural communities and keep children and families together. Orphanage volunteering…

Sindhupalchowk, Nepal –, Balaram Timilsina, Principal of Bansanghu Secondary School, is always eager to show visitors the new transitional learning centres built on his school premises. “The TLCs are very spacious,” Mr Timilsina says beaming. “They provide a better learning environment for the students as they allow a lot of light in.” The two TLCs, with two classrooms…,  , The school, which was located at the bottom of the hill, had been swept away too. A total of 146 people, including 32 of Mr Timilsina’s students, lost their lives during what’s now popularly known as the ‘Jurey’ landslide.   It was total devastation, there were only traces left of the school building. We kept finding little things from our…

Dhading, Nepal –,  For someone who has gone through so much at such a young age, 14-year-old Anjali Darain is exceptionally brave. But her grief is not an easy one to bear. Every corner of her cozy family cottage reminds Anjali of her loving parents and her little brother. Nearly a year ago, they were crushed under a massive landslide caused by the devastating…, Not charity but reinforcing social support helps children, Chapeligaun is home to mostly farmers from the  janajati  (indigenous) Darain ethnic group, who are more impoverished than other caste groups there. Anjali’s family also belongs to this community and with a small plot of farmland, her grandfather can hardly make ends meet with subsistence farming. They depend on the support of Anjali’s uncles…

Devastating floods in Nepal have claimed lives and displaced thousands of people. Communities are now confronted with damaged or destroyed homes and schools, ruined food stocks and an increased risk of waterborne diseases. UNICEF and partners are providing immediate relief to those affected and supporting early recovery efforts. , By Sunir Pandey Rautahat, Nepal, 6 September 2017, – When Ram Patiya Mahato, 32, went to bed on Friday 11 August, she expected to go the next day to a medical facility to give birth to her fourth child. Instead, she woke to see her home flooded. Roads were obstructed and there was no local transport available. As the floodwaters started rushing into their village, her husband Hari Mahato Dhangar,…, Flood Aftermath, Rautahat in southern Nepal is one of 36 districts where incessant rainfall starting on 11 August 2017 triggered widespread flooding and landslides, claiming 159 lives, affecting 1.7 million and temporarily displacing more than 350,000 people throughout the country. While adults like Ram and Hari worry how they will take care of their family and…, UNICEF Relief Efforts, UNICEF Nepal National Ambassador, nun and international music star Ani Choying Drolma and UNICEF Country Representative Tomoo Hozumi met Ram, Hari, Dahariya and other flood-affected families during a visit to assess the humanitarian situation and needs. The team distributed hygiene kits, baby clothes, long-lasting medicated bed nets, buckets, mugs…

Mahottari, Nepal, 14 October 2017 - , On a warm Saturday morning, Aarati Mishra breastfed her six-month-old son Rohan. Her husband Aakash began combing their two-year-old daughter Aalya’s hair. Dressed in a yellow outfit, Aalya sat quietly as her father finished getting her ready. The family of four then took a 45-minute bus ride to Jaleshwar, the district headquarters of Mahottari in…, “, Our daily life was like that of most Nepalis,” said Aakash. "My wife, mother and sister would take care of the children. They would feed, bathe and clean them. I used to help out only sometimes.” As an engineer working at a construction site, Aakash was more concerned about earning a living for the family. However, his outlook on parenting changed…

Lalitpur, Nepal , — Overlooking the scenic view of the capital city Kathmandu, lies Dalchoki village, nestled amongst the hills to the south. The village is just 90 minutes’ drive away from Kathmandu, and yet is just beginning to benefit from basic services, thanks to the newly built road. A local of the village, Anita Ghyawa vividly remembers the afternoon of 25…