A Hand of Friendship, Mitrata-Nepal

The best thing about being a human is our ability to feel compassion without any regard to natural or imaginative boundaries. Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children in St. Louis, Mo. is one such organization that is helping to create a better environment for hundreds of children in Nepal. Founded in 2005, this organization provides shelter, medical care and educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Nepal. Through its fundraising activities it links children in Nepal with sponsors, and supports a group home for children in Kathmandu run by the Mitrata Nepal Foundation (an NGO in Nepal).

Photo from: http://mitrata.org/Default.aspx

The organization was founded in St. Louis in 2005 by Dr. Christine Schutz of Logan University and Dr. Nancy Williger in collaboration with Mitrata Nepal Foundation in Kathmandu. It is unique in its approach toward child welfare, because its main focus is the one on one relationship between child and sponsor. By doing so, it not only provides a home through financial aid but also provides the child with a family and an emotional support system.

Another reason why the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation is distinctive is because it supports these children into adulthood, assisting them in becoming educated and independent. Seeing a child into adulthood is important to complete the mission of the organization. Doing so decreases the chances of a child being somewhat stranded half way into his education. To accomplish this, Mitara-Nepal Foundation has five basic methods: 1) Child sponsorship 2) Operational support 3) Career development and scholarship 4) Technical assistance 5) Cultural travel.

The underprivileged children in Nepal need all the assistance they can get. After a decade of civil war and political instability; begging in the streets of Kathmandu seems to be the most prominent method of survival. Without guidance and education, these underprivileged, and often orphan children, find themselves caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy, crime and drugs. Stories about young boys growing to be petty robbers, and young girl being sold to sex trafikking are not uncommon in Nepal.

By providing an education to hundreds of children in Nepal, Mitrata-Nepal has extended a hand of friendship (mitrata) that binds the people of America with the people of Nepal. And for this, I, as a Nepali, thank you!

To learn more about Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children, please visit their Web site.