UK charity assists Nepalese trafficked children after the earthquake

Our Sansar's transit home is the only emergency shelter in the district of Dhading for children affected by the earthquake and other children in need of emergency support. All our children are referred to us by the police, children's authorities or other organisations. Dhading is close to the epicentre of last year's 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left 8,857 dead, 21,952 injured and 3.5 million homeless.

In Nepal until recently, international adoption was illegal due to past issues with trafficking and a variety of scams run by illegal children's homes and traffickers. The Nepalese Government treats the issue of trafficking very seriously and after the earthquake there have been a number of different check points set up along themain roads. This is how the police found the children that were referred to Our Sansar's transit home.

Shortly after the earthquake, Our Sansar brought one of the trafficked children from Dhading to Kathmandu for medical treatment and an Our Sansar staff member, who is from the Terai region (near the Indian border), was seen by a traffic policeman getting into a taxi with that child. The policeman informed all police stations and our staff member was stopped by police and investigated as they thought he was an Indian trafficker with a child. Indian trafficker gangs are preying on the earthquake victims from Dhading, targeting the most vulnerable.

Thanks to support from the Dhading District Child Welfare Board and their staff, in particular the former Child Rights Officer and now Project Manager, Hari Upretti, Our Sansar's project continues to assist all those childrenthat are victims of trafficking, some of who have been sold to traffickers by their parents. The Nepalese Government cannot combat this problem on their own - there is also a need for education, as the problem exists largely due to parents believing that their children will get a better future. The parents are promised a good education, shelter and welfare for their children - they never imagine the horror that the traffickers are intending to put their children through.

ENDS

www.oursansar.org


Case study

Girishma

Girishma is a 16 year old girl staying at Our Sansar transit home at the moment. Her dad passed away when she was 10 years old ad she didn't receive any education since that time.Due to the earthquake and difficult financial situation, her mum sold Girishma to traffickers without knowing the future fate of her daughter. Girishma was found and referred by the police to Our Sansar transit home and staying with us since beginning of January 2016. She doesn't have a birth certificate so Our Sansar and local authorities are processing one for her now. We have found her a safe permanent shelter where she will also receive skills training in tailoring and beauty treatments as these are her interests.