We reflect on 2021 from our safe house in Nepal
“When the children arrive at the safe house, there is often an immense sense of relief when they realise for the first time that there are other children that have had similar experiences” Binita Adhikara, the amazing woman who runs the YesTax funded safe house in Nepal, reflects on her experience throughout 2021.
During the past 12 months, 47 child rape cases were referred to the charity and 11 children were brought into the safe house for intense counselling and support.
The aim of the safe house is to provide a therapeutic environment where the children can start to heal both physically and mentally and the hope is that the children can be safely re-integrated back with their families once the perpetrator has been brought to justice. 7 children were successfully re-integrated this year and 25 previously re-integrated children were followed up with calls and visits to the home.
The Nepalese government locked down the country for 32 days from early May to mid-June which meant that the children were engaged in a whole host of indoor activities such as music, dancing, crafts and home schooling. After lockdown, the schools re-opened and students were then busy with end of term exams.
Key impacts this year included
- 5 awareness programmes conducted on ending discrimination on mental health and child sexual abuse
- 7 children successfully re-integrated back to their families
- 22 parent counselling sessions
- 25 children that had been re-integrated were checked upon
- 240 individual counselling sessions
- Awareness classes continued to be delivered focusing on menstruation management, positive and moral education, discipline and manners, life skill techniques and the covid-19 pandemic
- General medical and eye check-ups regularly provided to all girls
- A field trip, a picnic and home visits for Dashain and Tihar
Without your kind support none of this would be possible and so a massive thank you from the team in Nepal. As for all of us, 2021 brought lots of ups and down but as a result of our financial support, we are able to take good care of the children.
YesTax. Positively Better.