As a mother who has welcomed two beautiful boys into my life, I know what it is like to look into their eyes and imagine the bright future in the 80 years or so that lay ahead for them.
I too have looked into the eyes of the children from the orphanage here and wondered the very same thing.
In our very limited experience we have only dealt with orphanages that take children from 6-18 years of age. This naturally posed the question 'Where are the babies?' and 'What happens when they leave?'
From varied and sad beginnings babies up to the age of 5 are taken to a baby orphanage, where the hope begins that they be adopted out or reunited with family. Sadly due to the unreliable and unstable Maoist government international adoption agencies have begun to stop their adoption relationships with Nepal. This means in the years to come there are going to be even more children in need of orphanage care.
The babies that are not adopted end up in orphanages like the ones we have been involved with. However, orphanages vary greatly in their ability to care well for the children. Some self funded orphanages are small rented dilapidated buildings in rice fields that are only able to send their children to a government school.
Government schools are given no credence here in Nepal. Classes hold well over 60 students and are run by untrained teachers.
Then there are the orphanages that have private funding and own their own land and are in the position to send their children to a private school.
Whatever their start, the children are without a doubt better off in a safer, healthy and more caring environment. That's their beginnings, but what of their future?
What happens to the children when they reach 16 or 18years and they must leave? The ideal situation for any child would be further education; this depends upon scholarships, donations or sponsorship. However, without this funding the children are assisted to find a job and their own accommodation.
The children may choose to go back to their village of birth or choose to stay near where they have been living or schooling. Provided it is safe, the children in the cases we have come across are encouraged back to their village on the month long break they have in October, in order to maintain some ties and roots with their heritage and culture.
Whatever their decision, these children are at risk and more vulnerable of being taken advantage of due to their lack of family support and friends to look out for them. The girls in particular are at a real risk of sexual predators.
Assuming all goes well with further education or finding a decent job, my third and final question comes to mind. In a society that relies upon arranged marriages, who arranges their marriage?
Apparently there is nobody to fill this role for them, so I wonder what is to become of these kids in their future. It would appear they must find love in order to eventually be part of some type of true family unit.
x Lisa (thinking too much Mum)
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| The Front Entrance to the Private School the COTS kids attend |
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| The Private School Playing Oval where the COTS children attend |
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| The Private School Prep Room |
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