- The Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) in Kathmandu has rescued 200 street children this year as part of a government initiative.
- CCWB aims to rehabilitate these children by providing them a safe home environment and helping them lead normal lives.
- Some rescued children were addicted to drugs, leading to their admission in rehabilitation centers, while others were returned to families or sent to drop-in centers for counseling and education.
- A previous study estimated over 4,000 street children in Nepal, with 600 in Kathmandu; however, the recent rescues suggest the actual numbers may be higher.
- CCWB's operational guidelines emphasize integration with families, society, and addressing root causes, while discouraging direct assistance on the streets to prevent prolonged street stays.
KATHMANDU, July 23: As part of the government's plan to rescue and rehabilitate street children, the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) has so far rescued 200 children languishing in various streets of the Kathmandu valley this year.
Since May, the CCWB has been working to rescue the street children from the streets and working to resettle them in a safe home environment.
“We are working to rescue street children and rehabilitate them so that they also can lead a normal life,” said Tarak Dhital, executive director at the CCWB. “Many children have been staying on the streets and some of them are into drug addictions. So, our move is to assist them in leading a normal life. ”
According to him, of the total 200 children, 11 were into drugs and therefore have been admitted in rehabilitation centers and other 25 children have been returned to their families. Similarly, the remaining children have been handed over to drop-in-centers for counseling, education and other livelihood trainings.
A study carried out by the CCWB two-year earlier has shown that there are over 4,000 street children across the country and over 600 children inside the Kathmandu valley which includes those who are staying in shelters after being rescued from the streets.
“Before we launched the program, we had estimated that only 300 street children might be living in streets of Kathmandu Valley. But we have already rescued 200 street children within three months. It indicates there are hundreds of other street children in the valley,” he added.
The CCWB had developed the Street Children Operational Guideline, 2072 to work for the street children, about a year ago. The guideline has allowed to rescue children from the road and also to integrate them with their families and society. The guidelines also stresses on assisting them in giving up on drugs, if they are into it.
The guideline has envisioned methodologies to figure out factors that led them to reside on the streets. Such findings, it claims, will help introduce measures for assisting children from being homeless in the days ahead.
Following the management plan, the CCWB has banned from distributing foods, clothes and treatment to street children without rehabilitating them. “Helping the street children by providing their needs on the street is a major factor that prolongs their stay on the street. That's why we restricted various organizations from distributing goods to street children and organizing various activities for them,” said Dhital.