SDG 4: Help All Children Access Education in Nepal

The Street Children Rehabilitation Centre works with children found on the streets of Pokhara. At some point each one of these children ran away from their homes - it isn’t always clear why - maybe there wasn’t enough food to eat or their parents were away working in order to provide food. But in doing so, their family wasn’t able to provide the watchful eye or support a child needs.

The aim of the centre is to rehabilitate the children and family, and if it is suitable for the children to re-join their family and return to a normal healthy and safe family environment. The children attend school and during the Dashain festival school break GVI wanted to provide a fun and stimulating festival camp for them to get activated and learn in a relaxed and creative way.A schedule was set up consisting of homework help, where the children decided what they needed help with for school, English, math, arts and crafts, and games. Every day had a specific theme like Environment, Friendship or Health. All depending on the strengths and creativity of our volunteers, schedule changed from day to day, true to the Nepali style of life.

Some amongst many highlights where a true Dashain feast in one of the Committee members house, swinging in giant bamboo swings, learning about the tradition of Halloween (getting dressed up and trick or treating!) paper maché making, tie dying your own t-shirts, dancing, singing and of course a casual movie with popcorn.It has all been good fun and volunteers and children alike had a great time, interacting, teaching about responsibility, sharing and caring for each other in a festival fun kind of way. The children have been great and have surely taught the volunteers a thing or two as well.

Links:

• GVI Charitable Trust