We are now past the 6 months mark from the second earthquake to devastate Nepal earlier this year and our Dhading transit home has been running for nearly 6months! We have seen the children and the area in Dhading come a long way since the heat from the summer months. Our project started by building our bamboo houses and arranging all the mattresses inside them – we enlisted carpenters, handymen and several volunteers to assist with the project, as well as members from the Our Sansar home in Birgunj. The governmental authorities were very encouraging to and were very keen for us to start helping children affected by the earthquake. From our initial understanding, around 90 children had lost at least one parent from the earthquake, and at least 10 had lost both. Some of the children lived in remote areas that are not accessible by car. Our staff had to travel up to three days (sometimes by foot) in order to reach the children and assist with the recovery from the earthquake.
Suraj (pictured) was one of the young boys affected by the earthquake that we were able to help very early on. After Nepalquake, Suraj’s mother could not be found and his father was unable to look after him. The governmental authorities had tried placing him at another children’s home in Dhading, but he escaped due to not being happy there. When we first met Suraj he was a very cheeky and seemed very happy to be in our transit home, but he needed to start attending school again. At the time this was not possible in Dhading. Suraj is one of the many children we met who had behavioural issues.
Since the earthquake, our Dhading transit home has become a remarkable project. All of the staff work very hard to create a happy atmosphere and to keep the mood high at all times. We have many volunteers that are completing many activities with the children, such as singing and dancing – there is always music playing! The environment around the home has also drastically changed – we now grow our vegetables, have benches and there is even a hammock for the kids to relax in. The homes now have proper plumbing, with a fully functional shower and lighting has been placed in crucial parts of the home. 
The kids are wonderful and much better behaved than before. We have had clothes donated for the winter months and we have also took the children shopping to buy more winter clothes for them. The temperatures during winter tends to plummet in Northern Nepal and villagers are constantly worrying about the lack of thick blankets and winter clothes to fight against the cold of the winter. Suraj is still in our Dhading home and is enrolled in a school in the area. Since the earthquake we have helped countless children find family they can live with again or place them in a suitable home within the district. Our staff always make sure the home the children are going back to is safe and efficient enough to help the child with their development and recovery. The number of children in our transit home varies on a daily basis, due to both children coming into the home and being placed.
We are also happy to announce that our project in Dhading has been extended! We hope the project can last a long time, in order to assist all the children affected by earthquake or street children within the area.
