Synopsis

On the 21^st of November 2006 the Prime Minister of Nepal and the leader of the rebel CPN Maoist party signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord, ending 10 years of civil war. The international community was satisfied, but four years on Nepal is on the brink of collapse. Kathmandu’s population has ballooned and the city is struggling to cope with traffic, pollution, poor sanitation, poverty and malnutrition. As in all wars, it was the women and children who suffered the most, and continue to suffer today.

Hundreds of children now live on the streets of Kathmandu, abandoned and left not only by their families, but also by their country and society. But there is hope, and it comes in the form of a shy, modest man with little more than dedication and an optimistic self-belief. His name is Bishwa Pratap Achayra and he runs a small orphanage of 19 children in the Kathmandu suburb of Patan. Bishwa’s days are spent in the streets meeting children who have been abandoned, abused or orphaned and have come to Kathmandu in the hope of finding a new life. Bishwa makes a record of the children’s condition and situation, but can only step in to support in extreme circumstances, as his funds are not sufficient to meet his aspirations.

On one such day Bishwa meets the sisters Parmila and Srijana. They are living with five other young children, four boys and another girl, and sleep out in the elements behind a construction site. They beg for food during the day, but barely get enough to survive and have, like most street children, turned to glue sniffing, which suppresses hunger and gives them an escape from their daily lives. Bishwa is very concerned about the girls, but there is very little he can do for them now. He leaves them knowing that they are still worth fighting for.

Bishwa has been in this situation before. Many of the children at his orphanage were working as child labourers or locked up in pigpens and dreamt of a loving home and a chance to better themselves and learn. Now they have that opportunity and they are grabbing it with both hands. These children have been saved, for now, and they are doing what millions of children around the world are doing, studying for their exams. The life that these children now lead is in stark contrast to that of Parmila and Srijana. They play, laugh and enjoy the fresh opportunity that every day brings and hopefully Parmila and Srijana will join them too…

Quotes from the film

“If you look at the cost of the war it was a very big loss on the part

of the Child’s Rights Movement because over 8000 children have lost their parents and nearly 40,000 children have been displaced from their native birthplace”.

- Gauri Pradhan, Chairman of the Nepal Human Rights Commission.

“We have no choice, we have to keep hope, but we don’t think the problem of street children will be addressed properly in the near future. If the political situation is not stable then those who lost their parents are on their way to coming to the streets. So one day they will arrive on the street and it’s going to be a big problem”.

- Krishna Kumar Thapa, Director of Voice of Children.

“I would like to study. When I had my father I used to study, but I quit after the death of my father. I studied till first grade and quit”.

- Parmila Puri, street kid

“When I grow big I will go to the campus at college and I will take care of my teacher Puja and Bishwa Uncle”.

- Sangita aged 12, orphan saved by Bishwa

“I want to become a teacher, they can make someone become a good person. I want to teach and make others good”.

- Durga, aged 9. orphan saved by Bishwa

“Our long term objective is to improve health care for all the children living a desperate life on the street. To provide them education, food, clothes and shelter. If we can achieve this then no child in Nepal has to live the life of a street child and be deprived of an education. Of course it is a very hefty goal, but it is very needy and important to do, so we have to find ways to achieve our goals, no matter how ambitious they may seem”.

- Bishwa Pratap Achayra, Founder of Happy Home Nepal