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I am raising money to support Happy Kids Center, an organization in Nepal I've been involved with since 2016. Please help support our programs to end child labor and child marria
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**** Donations can also be made via Venmo at @thehappykidscenter ****
I first arrived in Nepal in 2016, less than two years after the 2015 earthquake that severely damaged the town of Bhaktapur, where Happy Kids Center was later founded. From the first day I arrived and met the children, they stole my heart.
Back in 2016, approximatley 60% of children were out of school, most of whom never attended school in the first place. They instead spent their days engaging in child labor -- walking the city in search of recyclables that their parents could sell to earn ends meat. The families relied on the children to ensure they could put food on the table each morning and evening. The children and their parents longed for an education, but it was out of reach even before the earthquake.
However, thanks to Happy Kids Center's programming, the children's futures have taken a turn for the best. Now, more than 90% of our Happy Kids are now enrolled in school and less than 10% are engaging in child labor with no new children joining the workforce since 2016.
Unfortunately, two years of school lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic undid a lot of that progress. Children fell behind and became less committed to school and parents again relied on their children to work amidst difficult economic conditions. Many girls were also married because their parents could no longer afford to care for them.
The circumstances have already improved greatly over the last year, but we need your help to ensure we are able to lift our community up and get back to where we left off in 2019, and go on to acheive even grater things!
**** Donations can also be made via Venmo at @thehappykidscenter ****
Happy Kids Center is a small, community based organization located in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The organization was founded in 2015 following the devastating earthquake in Nepal that killed over 9,000 people and affected the lives of countless more, including the Happy Kids community.
Happy Kids Center's mission is to end the practice of child labor and child marriage in our community through increasing access to education and creating a safe space for the city's most at risk youth.
The organization's impact to date is impressive for its size. We work directly with approximately 65 children and their families, providing education, daily school lunches, after school snacks, and access to programs that directly respond to the needs of children, including child marriage prevention.
Back in 2016, approximately 60% of children were out of school, most of whom never attended school in the first place. They instead spent their days engaging in child labor -- walking the city in search of recyclables that they would sell, earning less than $.50 per day. The families relied on the children to ensure they could put food on the table each morning and evening. The children and their parents longed for an education, but it was out of reach even before the earthquake.
However, thanks to Happy Kids Center's programming, the future of these children has taken a turn for the best. Now, more than 90% of our Happy Kids are now enrolled in school and less than 10% are engaging in child labor with no new children joining the workforce since 2016.
Unfortunately, two years of school lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic undid a lot of that progress. Children fell behind and became less committed to school and parents again relied on their children to work amidst difficult economic conditions. Many girls were also married because their parents could no longer afford to care for them.
The circumstances have already improved greatly over the last year, but we need your help to ensure we are able to lift our community up and get back to where we left off in 2019, and go on to achieve even greater things!
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