Struggles For Nepali Families and Kids

The challenges that are presented by the ongoing circumstances often require swift, urgent responses, and BSF staff are doing everything possible to make sure that our kids are protected as much as possible. But the situation is truly dire: according to one recently conducted national survey in Nepal, many families face imminent danger of getting pushed into the poverty trap with rapidly declining income coupled with the sharp increases in food prices. The survey that covered households and families from across the entire nation also reported that 61% of the respondents were found to be earning less than $100 per month. 11% of the households also reported that their children are eating less than before. The average household in Nepal is struggling to make ends meet right now, and the communities and children that we work with are already those most vulnerable and in need outside of pandemic times.

Our children have been studying from home since Nepal went on lockdown in March last year. But in recent months, concerned educational authorities, including universities, decided to conduct some of the delayed, upper-level examinations physically. For example, the board examinations for 12th grade were held after the Tihar holidays in November. Similarly, some of the other colleges also announced that they would soon be resuming their physical classes since they had been facing problems in conducting online classes smoothly. Taken together, this means that soon all of our 11th and 12th grade and college-level kids were going to return to Kathmandu. Unlike during normal times, school and college hostels and even private hostels are still largely shut down. Further, that the children returning from their hometowns and villages have to be quarantined and tested for COVID-19 before being transferred to BSF living facilities or the school hostels that were willing to take them in.

Since the Contact Center kids are now mostly studying from home, we hurriedly converted a part of Contact Center to a quarantine space for the kids coming from outside Kathmandu. The staff had to prepare makeshift sleeping arrangements as we had limited beds, quilts, and mattresses. We had to also plan for their meals and other support. The Contact Center non-teaching staff prepared food for the children whereas the coordinators and counsellors constantly stayed in touch with them for other things. After the quarantining kids receive their negative results, they are transferred to one of the two group living facilities, namely, the group living facility in Sukedhara or the graduate living facility in Maharajgunj. Since these children were brought to these places in short notice, we are having to manage everything with limited bedding, furnishing, utensils, and other household supplies. Although temporary, we will operate these facilities and continue to house these kids until their school or college hostels in the city reopen and are safe and stable in order for them to be transferred there. This issue is exasperated by smaller grades opening up for in-person classes. For example, the Vibhuti School has started conducting physical classes by organizing their classes in different shifts and maintaining social distancing and following the necessary safety protocols. We also transferred the kids to Reliance School hostels recently who had been studying remotely for a year.

We are fundraising for emergency bedding and supplies needed to help our children return to in-person schooling in Kathmandu on and before our annual Trivia Night on March 20. In order to donate to the Fund-a-Need campaign or purchase your trivia night table, visit our website: https://www.mitrata.org/trivia!