Construction of a House for Children of Prisoners

Construction of a House for Children of Prisoners

Project location: NEPAL, Nepal
Project start date: September 2002 - Project end date: June 2003
Project number: 2002-16
Beneficiary: The Esther Benjamins Trust

The Nando Peretti Foundation  financed the construction of a house for children of prisoniers in Nepal. In the last years The Ester Benjamins Trust (EBT) worked hardly in order to put an end to the practice of jailing dependent children of prisoners in Nepal and the results arrived with the decision of the Government to stop this practice. Now children of prisoners are not forced anymore to live in prison and to undergo such inhuman treatment. These children are left alone and are in serious danger of being sold to circuses and brothels, or for the trade of human organs. The EBT built two houses for children of prisoners, one in Katmandu and one in Bhairhawa. The latter is full and in risk of overcrowding. The project consisted in building a new facility in close proximity of the existing, in order to accommodate 20 more children and to create a centralised office to ensure supervision, managed by the EBT, and a vocational training centre.

(below) The building as it was

(below) the new accomodation block, November 2003

 

Activity Report, April 2003  [pdf 470 kb]

Final Activity Report, 2004

The project outcomes were an increased capacity for residential care of children (former prison children, street children and circus children) along with vocational training and educational facilities and enhanced office facilities. These have all been achieved with the building of a new "White House" refuge, the purchase and enhancement of a "Blue House" temporary accommodation and educational centre, and modification to the pre-existing "Green House". The pre-existing "Red House" has become transit accommodation and educational facilities for newly-released circus children and this has become possible through the previous occupants (refuge boys) joining the refuge girls at the new "White House". The only output that has not been completed has been the construction of a new Green House accommodation/office block and this has been postponed until the Esther Benjamins Trust sets up its own INGO office in Nepal at the end of this year and full needs have been assessed. This development was not anticipated at the start of the project.

exterior views

 Even before project completion the enhanced facilities have been put to good use with centralisation of long term child care at the old and new "White Houses". The "Red House" was used as temporary accommodation for released circus children in January and after being reunited with their parents they were brought back to the Red House in February for an "Educational Development Opportunity" course. At time of writing the Blue House is being prepared for the transit accommodation of 28 newly-released circus children who return from India this weekend.

 We feel very honoured and grateful to have had the support of the Nando Peretti Foundation and hope that we can continue to work together as our work in Nepal expands to meet the growing challenges.

The Esther Benjamins Trust http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/