Rasuwa

About Rasuwa

“… vulnerable to trafficking due to their proximity to Kathmandu, poor educational opportunities and low economic status.”

Situated in the north of Kathmandu and sharing a border with Tibet, Rasuwa is home to the Tamang people, a culture with strong Tibetan influences.  Some regions of Nepal are more vulnerable to trafficking due to their proximity to Kathmandu, poor educational opportunities and low economic status.  Rasuwa  is one such district and is the place of origin for 60 of our youngest children.

Our Reintegration Project

Working closely with Next Generation Nepal (NGN), we were able to trace the families of these children and prepare them for reintegration.  In April 2011, Umbrella safely returned 27 directly to their families and set up a temporary childcare home in Syabhrubesi, Rasuwa for those remaining.  This home was part of our staged approach to full reintegration and acted as a centre to reconnect them with their families.

One year later, the final 32 children went to live with their families and our temporary childcare home closed as planned.  This was the fulfilment of almost two years' work and, thanks to the dedication of our reintegration team, these children will grow up surrounded by family and community, with Umbrella continuing to monitor their progress regularly and providing them with support.

Foster Care

For 4 of the children in Rasuwa, it was not deemed suitable to fully and permanently reintegrate them as there was no local school for them to attend.  Therefore, Umbrella established a foster care home in Syaphrubesi, Rasuwa to accommodate them in a safe, family environment where they are looked after and can go to school.  Here, they are also close enough to their family homes that they can visit on weekends/public holidays and are growing up immersed in their own cultural and traditional environment.

Our Rural Education Project

“… we have made commitments to improve the local schools in which our children will be educated.”

The primary cause of migration to Kathmandu is to receive better education.  Umbrella is improving the local schools our children attend to change the perceived imbalance between rural villages and the capital, weakening child traffickers' main selling feature.  Apart from providing English-speaking teaching volunteers since 2012, Umbrella also provided infrastructural and staff support as follows"

April 2012 - Began supporting the salaries of 2 additional teachers in Rastriya Secondary School, Gatlang.  This had a positive impact on the whole school community as the villagers, motivated by our intervention, managed to collect funds for 2 more teacher to join the school staff;

February 2013 - Completed work on the 'Gatlang Library Project' which was led by French volunteers Victor and Adeline Lapras and Victoria Junior College, Singapore.  They worked to gether to construct flooring and to furnish, decorate and stock the library with books and educational materials;

March 2013 - Provided teacher-training workshops for Rastriya Secondary School staff in Gatlang village;

June 2013 - Collaborated with The British School Kathmandu in providing a week-long teacher-training course in Kathmandu for two teachers from Rastriya Secondary School, Gatlang.

In 2014 The Umbrella Foundation Australia will be contributing to the already established community project in Gatlang, Rasuwa. Umbrella Australia will be expanding our support by means of a women's health project, food for education and further teacher training.