Kuntabesi Project

In March 2009 Dharmik Australia, now the Asha Foundation received an e-mail from The Body Shop Foundation with the great news that we had been granted 1000 pounds to be used for the Kavre Village Disabled Children’s Centre situated about 3 hours drive east of Kathmandu in the village of Kuntabesi in the Kavre District.   At the time we were supporting the Disabled Children’s Centre with approximately 25 pounds per month so The Body Shop grant was a unique opportunity for us to achieve two main objectives:-

• Improve the lives of the children living in the disabled centre in a sustainable manner.
• Increase our capacity to manage projects in Nepal.

 To achieve this, we provided asset materials that would be helpful in improving the living conditions of the home and children:-

•  Wheelchair for Manisha a young teenager who could not move about at all
•  Pressure Cooker – 12 litre to help cook food for the group
•  CD Radio to provide entertainment
•  Strong wind up torches (2) as power blackouts are common
•  Tin boxes to store children’s belongings (clothes) which were on the floor
•  Bunk beds and linen to free space in the single crowded sleeping room.  There were 3 - 4 people to one bed
•  Gas stove & one cylinder - all cooking was using wood which is a scarce resource and in the rainy season difficult to manage
•  Clothing for the children
•  Educational material identified by our advisor
  
  

We have had much success with this project. Sustainable change has been made in the lives of the children. Manisha for instance was identified as having a strong intellect yet unable to move from the waist down.  Significantly the life of Manisha has been transformed. This young girl could not move without help, now she has a wheelchair. She is intelligent, but she was housed with other children with intellectual disabilities rather than physical. She had little prospect of a meaningful future. Thanks to this project, we became aware of her plight. We have arranged sponsors for her and have placed her in the Adarsha Saula School in Kathmandu, a specialized residential school for disabled children. We will be monitoring her progress.  

There has been great improvement is the condition of the disabled children. Initially there were no educational material, today we have provided them with educational materials that will help develop their minds. Previously there was no enough space in the bedroom and available beds were also not sufficient for all the children. After providing two bunk beds, the room looks spacious and there are enough beds. There were no sporting items. After providing sporting items like football, skipping rope, vestibular ball and others, it has helped in the physical movement and development of the children to some extent. Most importantly, the children are happy. The staff also are happy because of the changed environment and the teacher is happy now that she has more time for teaching and helping the children develop so that they may be able to adjust back into their home.