Nepal Youth Foundation
I have been a supporter of the Nepalese Youth Opportunities Foundation
(NYF) for years, and a trip to Nepal in October, 2009, intensified my enthusiasm
for this extraordinary NGO. NYF was founded by Olga Murray in 1990, when
she retired from her career as a legal researcher. Retired?? Olga, the
most active 85 year old I know, made her fascination with Nepal into a
new, lifelong commitment.
Let’s start with the Nepali children who are the focus of NYF's activities. NYF started out by setting up two children's homes in Kathmandu, one for boys and one for girls. Many of the children have been street kids, working as beggars and abandoned by their parents. The children live in a NYF community in which, together, they form their own caring family, finish high school, and many go on, with scholarships, to university and professional careers.
Olga took a special interest in malnutrition in existing poor families. She established Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes for malnourished children who are referred by hospitals AND for their mothers. These are small hospitals dedicated to restoring severely malnourished children to health and educating their mothers about nutrition and all aspects of child care. At the end of this year, there will be 12 such facilities around the country. After five weeks of the feeding program, most children gain enough weight to reach average for their age and the mothers gain an average of 12 pounds. Best of all, the mothers learn how to cook and grow healthier foods than rice and lentils so they can better feed their entire families when they return home.
NYF's program that moved me the most is Indentured Daughters in which NYF buys back daughters in the western Terai region who have been indentured at a young age to work as a servant for a wealthy family. NYF buys the girl’s family a piglet or goat to make up for lost income from indenturing the girl and then sends the girl to school in her home community. NYF has liberated 10,000 bonded girls and is on the verge of eradicating the bonding custom. The best part is that the girls have formed their own groups to publicize the illegality and cruelty of indenturing.
Always innovating, Olga has recently started a children's counseling center. As reported on NYOF's website, "Nepal is in its infancy as far as psychological counseling is concerned. However, many children suffer from emotional trauma as a result of the insurgency which raged through country for ten years and was only recently resolved. Furthermore, disabled children, orphans, and homeless youth suffer from oppression and discrimination, and they, too, are in need of counseling."
Please read in detail about NYF and consider ways you can contribute to this amazing work!
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